Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) CEO Ashish Masih Acquires 20,000 Shares

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $35.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $849.09 million, a P/E ratio of -4.57 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.99 and a 1-year high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.05). Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The business had revenue of $265.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 827.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Northland Securities increased their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.