Inceptionr LLC Takes $347,000 Position in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,976 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,248,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,342,000 after purchasing an additional 104,367 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 13.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 790,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,095,000 after purchasing an additional 91,019 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 583,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,577,000 after buying an additional 14,353 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 20.1% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 235,410 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,113,000 after buying an additional 39,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 6.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 128,041 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,956,000 after buying an additional 7,384 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECPG shares. Zacks Research raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised their price target on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $52,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 56,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,943,668. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $51.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.87 and a beta of 1.43. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 12 month low of $26.45 and a 12 month high of $52.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.97 and its 200-day moving average is $41.76.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 6.07% and a positive return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Encore Capital Group Company 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.