Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Encore Capital Group Inc by 27.3% in Q1, acquiring a total of 75,095 shares valued at approximately $2.57 million.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Encore Capital Group's rating from "sell" to "hold", with an average consensus target price of $62.67 based on positive performance forecasts.
• Encore Capital Group reported $2.49 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $1.05 and showing a 24.4% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,095 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 16,096 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.32% of Encore Capital Group worth $2,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECPG. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 2,834.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,308 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the first quarter worth about $228,000.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ECPG traded down $0.07 on Monday, reaching $42.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 284,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,256. Encore Capital Group Inc has a twelve month low of $26.45 and a twelve month 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. The stock has a market cap of $970.56 million, a PE ratio of -11.28 and a beta of 1.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $39.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.09.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $62.67.

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.