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

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ECPG traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.46. The company had a trading volume of 731,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 269,621. The stock has a market cap of $816.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.39 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.99 and a 52 week high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.40 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECPG. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the third 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective 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 target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.