Insider Buying: Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Director Purchases 40,000 Shares of Stock

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ ECPG traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $34.46. The stock had a trading volume of 731,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 269,621. The firm has a market capitalization of $816.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.39 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.99 and a 12-month high of $51.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.78.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ECPG. JMP Securities raised their target price on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 827.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

Encore Capital Group, Inc, a specialty finance company, provides debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers across financial assets worldwide. The company purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables at deep discounts to face value, as well as manages them by working with individuals as they repay their obligations and works toward financial recovery.