Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 13,648 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 570,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.41% of Encore Capital Group worth $26,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,828 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,980 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 9.8% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

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

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $48.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.79. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.64 and a 52 week high of $54.55.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ECPG shares. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. JMP Securities boosted 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 upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

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.