Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 3,327.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,637 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 8,385 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 67,268 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth $405,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,535 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 317.0% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 9,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 6.3% during the 4th 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECPG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $38.12 on Friday. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $51.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $890.06 million, a PE ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 1.61. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.38.

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

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.