Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Director Purchases $1,404,000.00 in Stock

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 96,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. This trade represents a 70.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.46. 731,581 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,621. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $47.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.78. 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 52-week low of $32.99 and a 52-week high of $51.77. The company has a market cap of $816.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.39 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Northland Securities upped their target price on Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECPG. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% in 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. grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in 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 purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

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.