Amundi Acquires 7,205 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Amundi raised its position in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 168.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,493 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 7,205 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ECPG. KBC Group NV raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 177.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 14,409 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 481,497 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,760,000 after acquiring an additional 18,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the third quarter worth $695,000.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other news, Director Ashwini Gupta acquired 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. The trade was a 70.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ashish Masih acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,324,005.56. This trade represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECPG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Northland Securities upped their target price on Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $34.51 on Friday. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.54 and a fifty-two week high of $51.77. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.50. The stock has a market cap of $817.58 million, a P/E ratio of -4.40 and a beta of 1.73.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.05). Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $373.40 million. On average, analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Encore Capital Group Profile

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.