Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $328.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.83 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 16.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.46%. Encore Capital Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 11.9 %

Shares of Encore Capital Group stock traded up $5.15 on Thursday, reaching $48.39. The company had a trading volume of 217,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,341. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of -5.35 and a beta of 1.38. Encore Capital Group has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $54.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ECPG shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Monday. TheStreet lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $275,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.