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

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) Director Ashwini Gupta bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.74. The stock had a trading volume of 388,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,189. The company has a market capitalization of $846.72 million, a P/E ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 1.73. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $47.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.49. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.99 and a 52 week high of $51.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.40 million. Analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 191.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,719 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 32,672 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 317.0% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,080 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 9,943 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the third quarter worth approximately $695,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 177.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,550 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,066,000 after buying an additional 14,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 16.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $35,752,000 after buying an additional 104,509 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Northland Securities lifted their target price on Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Encore Capital Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $62.67.

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.