Two Sigma Advisers LP Grows Holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 75.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,000 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 37,400 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.37% of Encore Capital Group worth $4,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,317 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,158 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECPG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ashish Masih acquired 20,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta acquired 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of ECPG stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.75. The company had a trading volume of 22,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,497. 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's 50 day moving average price is $34.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.22. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.45 and a 52-week high of $51.77. The company has a market capitalization of $881.47 million, a P/E ratio of -4.83 and a beta of 1.65.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.69. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $392.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $374.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share 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.