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 two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ECPG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.50.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 0.8%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.06. 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 capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.35.

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 business had revenue of $473.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($9.42) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of Encore Capital Group 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 transaction, the insider owned 48,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,325,656.80. The trade was a 13.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 1,729.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group in the third quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 168.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 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.