Buffington Mohr McNeal Makes New $686,000 Investment in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Buffington Mohr McNeal purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,000 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $686,000. Buffington Mohr McNeal owned about 0.08% of Encore Capital Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,416,499 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,667,000 after acquiring an additional 327,637 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,291,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 73.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 318,096 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,195,000 after purchasing an additional 134,309 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth about $3,361,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 256,002 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,228,000 after purchasing an additional 58,099 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ECPG traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 82,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,047. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 12 month low of $26.45 and a 12 month high of $51.77. The firm has a market cap of $961.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.42 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.42 and a 200-day moving average of $40.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.63, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.69. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 8.38% and a positive return on equity of 16.18%. The company had revenue of $392.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS 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.