Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 3,105 Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,967 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,105 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.50% of Encore Capital Group worth $4,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 152.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth $150,000.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $39.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $912.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.99 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.93. Encore Capital Group Inc has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.69. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 16.18% and a negative net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $392.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.