Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 81,001 Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group reduced its stake in Encore Capital Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 81,001 shares and ending with 2,373,398 shares valued at about $129 million.
• Encore Capital Group reported strong quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $3.86 versus the $3.02 estimate and revenue of $475.4 million, both ahead of expectations; revenue rose 21% year over year.
• Despite some mixed analyst moves, Wall Street currently assigns Encore Capital a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $86.25, while the stock was trading around $82.33.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,373,398 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 81,001 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.64% of Encore Capital Group worth $128,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 20,488 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 4,220 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 6,206.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,316 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 99.6% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 25,045 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,453,000.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 1.8%

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $82.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $74.86 and its 200-day moving average is $60.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 1.33. Encore Capital Group Inc has a fifty-two week low of $35.67 and a fifty-two week high of $92.64.

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

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total value of $499,849.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,325,656.80. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Encore Capital Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Encore Capital Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.25.

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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