Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,942 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 13,053 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $8,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 232.4% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 56,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 39,740 shares during the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 112,368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,107,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,453,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,852 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 8,738 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ECPG. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Encore Capital Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Encore Capital Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.25.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

ECPG stock opened at $80.20 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.30. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 52-week low of $35.67 and a 52-week high of $92.64.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $475.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.26 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 30.70% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

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.