Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stake Raised by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECPG. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 570,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,952,000 after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 512,042 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,460,000 after buying an additional 30,545 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,355,000 after acquiring an additional 36,822 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 114,862 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,104 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,256,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECPG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $34.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $824.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 1.58. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $51.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.71.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In related news, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. The trade was a 70.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ashish Masih purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.