Insider Selling: Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Insider Sells $137,500.00 in Stock

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) insider Ryan Bell sold 2,500 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 55,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,047,550. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG opened at $53.71 on Friday. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $56.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.35 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECPG. Wall Street Zen downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,248,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,342,000 after acquiring an additional 104,367 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 13.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 790,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,095,000 after purchasing an additional 91,019 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 379.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 98,817 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,125,000 after buying an additional 78,217 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 476.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 92,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after buying an additional 76,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 383.0% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after buying an additional 52,730 shares in the last quarter.

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.