Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $328.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.83 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 16.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ECPG traded up $5.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $48.39. The company had a trading volume of 217,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,341. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.54. Encore Capital Group has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $54.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.35 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 5,500 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 42,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Monday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th.

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.