Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 8,385 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 3,327.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,637 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 8,385 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,588,969 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $123,675,000 after buying an additional 16,663 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,416,499 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,667,000 after buying an additional 327,637 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 512,042 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $24,460,000 after buying an additional 30,545 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 387,550 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $18,513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 319,210 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,249,000 after purchasing an additional 16,180 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ECPG traded down $0.73 on Friday, hitting $38.12. 287,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 210,852. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.38. The company has a market cap of $890.06 million, a P/E ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $392.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Encore Capital Group 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.