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

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

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Phase 2 Partners LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 219.9% in the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 241,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,416,000 after purchasing an additional 166,014 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,752,000 after buying an additional 104,509 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,355,000 after buying an additional 36,822 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 191.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,719 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after buying an additional 32,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30,052 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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 stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.91. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.64 and a 1 year high of $54.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total transaction of $65,874.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,849.96. This represents a 3.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.