4,229 Shares in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Acquired by Inceptionr LLC

Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in Encore Capital Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,278 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the third 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 boosted its position in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ashish Masih purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. This trade represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $33.97 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.37. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.99 and a 52 week high of $51.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a market cap of $804.78 million, a PE ratio of -4.33 and a beta of 1.73.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued 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 business had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $373.40 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Encore Capital Group Company 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.