Cwm LLC Has $1.36 Million Stock Position in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Key Points

• Cwm LLC nearly doubled its position in Encore Capital Group, boosting its stake by 99.6% in Q4 to 25,045 shares worth about $1.36 million (≈0.11% of the company).
• Encore posted a strong quarter with $3.37 EPS vs. a $2.20 estimate and revenue of $473.6M (up 78.3% YoY, beating the $423.1M consensus).
• Wall Street sentiment has improved—analysts have issued upgrades and Encore carries a consensus "Buy" rating with a $80.50 price target, while the stock trades near a one-year high (~$83.73) and a P/E of 7.64.

Cwm LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 99.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,045 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 12,499 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Encore Capital Group worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECPG. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 97.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 33,620 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 16,634 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 263.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,860 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,361,000 after buying an additional 49,892 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings 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 holdings 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 Encore Capital Group news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total value of $499,849.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 48,170 shares in the company, valued at $3,325,656.80. The trade was a 13.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $83.73 on Monday. Encore Capital Group Inc has a one year low of $32.27 and a one year high of $85.42. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $70.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 28.19% and a net margin of 14.52%.The company had revenue of $473.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($9.42) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 11.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECPG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial set a $100.00 price target on Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Encore Capital Group from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.50.

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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