Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Acquires 1,489 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.09% of Encore Capital Group worth $983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,158 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 73.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 318,096 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,195,000 after purchasing an additional 134,309 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,291,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 256,002 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,228,000 after buying an additional 58,099 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Encore Capital Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial cut their price target on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.67.

Insider Activity

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

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $40.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $949.41 million, a PE ratio of -5.16 and a beta of 1.65. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.45 and a 52-week high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.69. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The company had revenue of $392.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Encore Capital Group 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.