Two Sigma Investments LP Has $5.73 Million Stake in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,842 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 24,494 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $5,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ECPG. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,355,000 after acquiring an additional 36,822 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,104 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,256,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292 shares during the last quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 45,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after buying an additional 9,768 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 114,862 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,487,000 after buying an additional 3,197 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ECPG shares. Wall Street Zen raised Encore Capital Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ashwini Gupta acquired 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $38.17 on Tuesday. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.45 and a 1 year high of $51.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.36. The stock has a market cap of $891.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.69. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The business had revenue of $392.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Encore Capital Group’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current 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.