Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 137,138 Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Key Points

• Hillsdale Investment Management initiated a new position in Encore Capital Group, buying 137,138 shares valued at about $7.45 million, which represented roughly 0.61% of the company at quarter-end.
• Other hedge funds were also active in ECPG, with several increasing holdings and a few opening new positions, while insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares in March for about $499,850.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock: the consensus rating is Buy with an average price target of $86.25, and Encore recently reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the quarter.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 137,138 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $7,453,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Encore Capital Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,852 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 8,738 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 1,729.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 494 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,234,000.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $499,849.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 48,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,325,656.80. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECPG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. 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 research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $86.25.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 0.4%

ECPG stock opened at $79.93 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.33. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 12 month low of $35.67 and a 12 month high of $92.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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

Encore Capital Group 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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