3,679,162 Shares in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG Bought by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 3.68 million Encore Capital shares worth approximately $343.2 million, giving it a 17.16% stake in the company at the end of the second quarter.
• Encore reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.81 versus the $2.67 consensus estimate and revenue of $491.87 million, up 11.3% year over year. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $13.00–$14.00.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating; recent price targets include $112 from Truist and $115 from Citizens JMP. Shares opened at $102.36, near their 52-week high.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,679,162 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $343,229,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 17.16% of Encore Capital Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 97.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 33,620 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 16,634 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 263.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,860 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 49,892 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,910 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 1,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 7.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,465 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,690,000 after buying an additional 5,672 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Yung sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.08, for a total transaction of $164,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 64,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,299,905.60. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $102.36 on Wednesday. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 52-week low of $39.94 and a 52-week high of $104.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.87, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.00 and a 200-day moving average of $80.43.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.14. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 29.83% and a net margin of 15.86%.The company had revenue of $491.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $455.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-14.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Encore Capital Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.75.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore's business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.

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