Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Shares Acquired by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,842 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 24,494 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.51% of Encore Capital Group worth $5,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 152.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,333 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECPG. Truist Financial cut 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 research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Encore Capital Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

ECPG traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 96,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,806. The stock has a market cap of $885.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.83 and a beta of 1.65. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.45 and a 12 month high of $51.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The business's 50-day moving average price is $34.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.22.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.69. The firm had revenue of $392.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.49 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The business's revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,505.90. The trade was a 70.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ashish Masih acquired 20,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 322,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Encore Capital Group

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.