Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Shares Bought by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,903 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 36,822 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.84% of Encore Capital Group worth $9,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,828 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,980 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encore Capital Group 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 value of $65,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,849.96. This trade represents a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ECPG. StockNews.com upgraded Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities raised their price objective 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 Capmk raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $62.33.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ECPG traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.53. The stock had a trading volume of 224,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,098. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.05 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.64 and a 12-month high of $54.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.65.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.22). 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 $367.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $360.70 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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.