AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 6,942 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 694,200.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,943 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,942 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 191.7% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,719 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 32,672 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 317.0% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 9,943 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 3rd quarter worth $695,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 177.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 14,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 16.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,752,000 after acquiring an additional 104,509 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at $11,324,005.56. This trade represents a 6.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $34.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.71 and its 200 day moving average is $46.94. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a one year low of $31.54 and a one year high of $51.77. The firm has a market cap of $811.89 million, a P/E ratio of -4.37 and a beta of 1.73. 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 results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.05). Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS 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.