Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Free Report)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $79.75 and last traded at $79.6340, with a volume of 143143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.28.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently commented on ECPG. Zacks Research raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 target price on Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.50.
Read Our Latest Report on Encore Capital Group
Encore Capital Group Trading Up 1.6%
Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $1.17. The business had revenue of $473.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.14 million. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 28.19%. Encore Capital Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($9.42) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Encore Capital Group 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 value of $499,849.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.8% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,308,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $54,606,000 after purchasing an additional 59,421 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 385,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,970,000 after purchasing an additional 34,980 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,916 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,214,000 after purchasing an additional 39,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 16.5% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,450,000 after purchasing an additional 38,908 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.
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