EntryPoint Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Key Points

• EntryPoint Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 147.1%, now holding 13,849 shares valued at $475,000.
• Several institutional investors, including MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL etfs Holdings Ltd. and Sheets Smith Wealth Management, have also raised their stakes in Encore Capital Group, indicating growing investor interest.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded Encore Capital Group from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, with the stock receiving an average rating of "Buy" and a target price of $62.67.

EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 147.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,849 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 8,244 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC owned 0.06% of Encore Capital Group worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,317 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,790 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the fourth 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. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 7.3% during the first quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 10,429 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 5.8% during the fourth 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

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 0.5%

ECPG opened at $41.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $951.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.06 and a beta of 1.59. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $39.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.42. Encore Capital Group Inc has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $51.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The asset manager reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $1.05. The firm had revenue of $442.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $383.42 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 19.61% and a negative net margin of 6.07%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Encore Capital Group Company 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.

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