Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 77,020 Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group reduced its position by 3.0%, selling 77,020 shares and ending the quarter with 2,454,399 shares (10.67% of Encore) valued at about $102.45 million.
• Strong quarterly results: Encore reported EPS of $3.37 (vs. $2.20 expected) and revenue of $473.6M (up 78% YoY), prompting multiple analyst price-target raises and a consensus "Buy" with a $75.50 target.
• Insider selling: Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares at about $69.04 (~$499,850), cutting his holding by 13.07%; insiders have sold 10,000 shares (~$655K) in the past 90 days and own 2.54% of the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,454,399 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 77,020 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.67% of Encore Capital Group worth $102,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 83.4% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the 3rd quarter worth $174,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised their price target on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Encore Capital Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $499,849.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares in the company, valued at $3,325,656.80. This trade represents 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 hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock worth $655,191 over the last ninety days. 2.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $73.75 on Thursday. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.19. Encore Capital Group Inc has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $74.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.35.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $473.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $423.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($9.42) EPS. Encore Capital Group's revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

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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