Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors reduced its Encore Capital Group stake by 7.5% in the first quarter, selling 81,150 shares. It retained 1,007,023 shares, representing approximately 4.69% of the company and a value of $70.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall, with four Buy ratings and two Hold ratings producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $88.00. Recent analysts included higher targets of $105 and $115, while Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to Hold.
• Encore reported a strong latest quarter, posting $3.86 in EPS versus the $3.02 consensus and revenue of $475.4 million, up 21% year over year. Shares opened at $94.08, near their 52-week high of $98.02, while the company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $13.00.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,007,023 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 81,150 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.69% of Encore Capital Group worth $70,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 388,425 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 31.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 135,692 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,515,000 after purchasing an additional 32,189 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $232,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 142,838 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,016,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northland Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ECPG shares. Zacks Research cut Encore Capital Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Encore Capital Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In related news, insider John Yung sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.08, for a total value of $164,160.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 64,570 shares in the company, valued at $5,299,905.60. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $94.08 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 1.27. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 1 year low of $35.67 and a 1 year high of $98.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.84. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 30.70% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company had revenue of $475.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Encore Capital Group

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ECPG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.