Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Sees Strong Trading Volume - What's Next?

Key Points

• Encore Capital Group shares saw trading volume jump 113% to 545,511 mid-day shares, while the stock traded around $78.72 (down about 1.1% from the prior close).
• The company posted a strong quarterly beat — EPS $3.37 vs. $2.20 expected and revenue $473.6M vs. $423.1M — with revenue up 78.3% year-over-year and a 28.2% return on equity.
• Analysts have been lifting ratings and targets: the consensus is a Buy (one Strong Buy, four Buy, one Hold) with an average price target of $75.50, while Truist and Citizens Jmp raised targets to $80 and $90 respectively.

Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 545,511 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 113% from the previous session's volume of 256,096 shares.The stock last traded at $78.7180 and had previously closed at $79.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ECPG. Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Encore Capital Group from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.50.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 1.1%

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 $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.90.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 28.19% and a net margin of 14.52%.The firm had revenue of $473.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($9.42) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $499,849.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares in the company, valued at $3,325,656.80. The trade was a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,308,252 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $54,606,000 after purchasing an additional 59,421 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 78.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 412,498 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $22,419,000 after purchasing an additional 180,733 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 385,830 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $20,970,000 after purchasing an additional 34,980 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,916 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $20,214,000 after purchasing an additional 39,214 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,318 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,450,000 after purchasing an additional 38,908 shares during the period.

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.

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