Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 545,511 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 113% from the previous session’s volume of 256,096 shares.The stock last traded at $78.7180 and had previously closed at $79.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECPG. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price target on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 2.0%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 1.26.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. The business had revenue of $473.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.14 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 28.19% and a net margin of 14.52%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($9.42) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encore Capital Group news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $499,849.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 48,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,325,656.80. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECPG. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 78.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 412,498 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,419,000 after buying an additional 180,733 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,453,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 488.1% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,128 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,377,000 after acquiring an additional 127,920 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 379.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 98,817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,125,000 after purchasing an additional 78,217 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 476.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 92,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 76,852 shares in the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

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.