Empowered Funds LLC Buys 4,288 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 5.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 84,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,288 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $4,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 221.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 130,127 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,430,000 after buying an additional 89,596 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 394,786 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,006,000 after acquiring an additional 59,624 shares during the period. Ogborne Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Encore Capital Group in the 1st quarter valued at $2,073,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 60.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 80,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 30,052 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 38.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 17,799 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Northland Capmk raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Securities raised Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $62.33.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $48.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -6.24 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.64 and a 52-week high of $54.55.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $367.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.