Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG)’s stock price 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 changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price target on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. 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 issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.50.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.06.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($9.42) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly 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 available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,053 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 102,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 6,915 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Finally, VARCOV Co. acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $599,000.

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.