Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Shares Purchased by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 37.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,892 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,233 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Encore Capital Group worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECPG. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 694,200.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,943 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 6,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 7,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In other news, CEO Ashish Masih acquired 20,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 322,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,324,005.56. This represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta bought 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 96,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $36.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $860.69 million, a P/E ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.54 and a fifty-two week high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $265.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

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.