Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $5.49 Million Stock Holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,862 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Encore Capital Group worth $5,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 191.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,719 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 32,672 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $695,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 177.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 14,409 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 16.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,752,000 after buying an additional 104,509 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $409,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 6.0 %

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $35.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $839.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.52 and a beta of 1.55. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.87 and a 52 week high of $51.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.88. 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 (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). 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 $265.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.40 million. As a group, equities 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, 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.