Homestead Advisers Corp Has $3.22 Million Stock Holdings in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Homestead Advisers Corp trimmed its position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 21.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 20,500 shares during the quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp owned about 0.34% of Encore Capital Group worth $3,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECPG. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,248,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,342,000 after acquiring an additional 104,367 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 476.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 92,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,599,000 after buying an additional 76,852 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 383.0% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,776,000 after buying an additional 52,730 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 263.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 49,892 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 525.6% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 47,837 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 40,191 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $56.13 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -30.67 and a beta of 1.41. Encore Capital Group Inc has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $57.81.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 25.27% and a negative net margin of 2.89%.The firm had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ECPG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott upped their price target on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their target price on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,047,550. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 56,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,943,668. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,923 shares of company stock worth $264,620. Insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore’s business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.