Man Group plc Acquires New Shares in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Key Points

• Man Group plc acquired 42,053 shares of Encore Capital Group, worth approximately $3.9 million and representing 0.20% of the company.
• Other institutions also increased or initiated positions, including BlackRock, AQR Capital Management, Barclays, and Arrowstreet Capital, signaling strong institutional interest.
• Encore reported quarterly EPS of $2.81, exceeding estimates of $2.67, while revenue rose 11.3% year over year to $491.87 million. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an $89.75 price target.

Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 42,053 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,923,000. Man Group plc owned 0.20% of Encore Capital Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group in the second quarter valued at $343,229,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 412,498 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $22,419,000 after purchasing an additional 180,733 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 388,425 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,916 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $20,214,000 after purchasing an additional 39,214 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 658.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 334,018 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $23,421,000 after buying an additional 289,964 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECPG shares. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citizens Jmp upped 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 report on Wednesday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.75.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG opened at $98.94 on Monday. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 12 month low of $39.94 and a 12 month high of $104.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.05 and a 200-day moving average of $81.34.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.14. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 15.86% and a return on equity of 29.83%. The business had revenue of $491.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-14.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider John Yung sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.08, for a total transaction of $164,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 64,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,299,905.60. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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