Intech Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 8,659 Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,137,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,782,000 after purchasing an additional 5,373 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 182,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 221.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 130,127 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,430,000 after buying an additional 89,596 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 84,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,009,000 after buying an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 80,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 30,052 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ECPG. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $62.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In other news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total transaction of $65,874.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,849.96. This trade represents a 3.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

ECPG stock opened at $49.24 on Tuesday. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.64 and a fifty-two week high of $54.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $367.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.