Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Acquires New Stake in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,596 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 38.6% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 196,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,719,000 after purchasing an additional 54,568 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $228,000. Homestead Advisers Corp grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 133,983 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,593,000 after acquiring an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the first quarter worth approximately $10,118,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 31.3% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,880 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $49.59 on Monday. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $51.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -13.26 and a beta of 1.43.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.25. The company had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 6.07% and a positive return on equity of 19.61%. Encore Capital Group’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal 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.