The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 392 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,286 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 317.0% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 9,943 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 512,042 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,460,000 after purchasing an additional 30,545 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,588,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $123,675,000 after purchasing an additional 16,663 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth about $643,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth about $3,361,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ashish Masih purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 322,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. This trade represents a 6.62% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $40.52 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.79. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $51.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $946.10 million, a PE ratio of -5.16 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $392.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECPG shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $62.67.

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.