Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Invests $667,000 in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,968 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $667,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.06% of Encore Capital Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 67,268 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2,576.7% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 8,030 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 7,730 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,416,499 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,667,000 after buying an additional 327,637 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at $241,000.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:ECPG traded down $0.57 on Monday, hitting $39.95. The stock had a trading volume of 176,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,254. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $51.77. The business's fifty day moving average is $33.94 and its 200 day moving average is $42.74. 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 company has a market cap of $932.79 million, a PE ratio of -5.09 and a beta of 1.65.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.69. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The firm had revenue of $392.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $62.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encore Capital Group news, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta acquired 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired 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 $3,401,505.90. This trade represents a 70.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.