Barclays PLC Purchases 58,099 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 256,002 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 58,099 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 1.08% of Encore Capital Group worth $12,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,588,969 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $123,675,000 after acquiring an additional 16,663 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 570,047 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $26,952,000 after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 512,042 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $24,460,000 after buying an additional 30,545 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 387,550 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $18,513,000 after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 152,942 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $7,306,000 after buying an additional 7,172 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 322,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,324,005.56. This represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of ECPG traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.38. The stock had a trading volume of 272,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,167. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $814.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.38 and a beta of 1.58. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $51.77. The company's fifty day moving average is $35.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.64.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $265.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. On average, analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

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.