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

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Director Ashwini Gupta acquired 40,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $34.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. 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 50 day simple moving average of $47.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.78. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.99 and a 52-week high of $51.77.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities upped 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. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,155 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter worth approximately $222,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 84,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,009,000 after acquiring an additional 4,288 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.