R Squared Ltd Buys Shares of 1,756 Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,756 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,828 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,278 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Encore Capital Group by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,647 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,340 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total transaction of $65,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,849.96. This trade represents a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECPG shares. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Encore Capital Group stock opened at $49.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.38 and a 200 day moving average of $47.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 1.55. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.64 and a fifty-two week high of $54.55.

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