Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyShares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $52.06 and traded as high as $69.40. Encore Capital Group shares last traded at $68.44, with a volume of 237,749 shares traded.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $70.00 price target on Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.
View Our Latest Analysis on Encore Capital Group
Encore Capital Group Trading Down 1.6%
The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.
Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 28.19%. The firm had revenue of $473.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($9.42) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity
In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $499,849.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 48,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,325,656.80. This represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,825 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter.
Encore Capital Group Company Profile
Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore’s business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.