Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys New Shares in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 168.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 83.4% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price target on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 55,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,047,550. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 56,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,943,668. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,923 shares of company stock valued at $264,620. 2.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of Encore Capital Group stock opened at $57.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.56 and a beta of 1.41. Encore Capital Group Inc has a twelve month low of $26.45 and a twelve month high of $57.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.37.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 2.89% and a positive return on equity of 25.27%. The company had revenue of $460.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Encore Capital Group 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.