70,363 Shares in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 70,363 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,361,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.30% of Encore Capital Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECPG. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter valued at $150,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $248,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $268,000.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Encore Capital Group stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.80. 15,339 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 185,349. The business's 50-day moving average is $38.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.38. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.45 and a 12 month high of $51.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $705.99 million, a P/E ratio of -3.80 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. Equities research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECPG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment 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, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.67.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other news, CEO Ashish Masih acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta bought 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased 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 trade represents a 70.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.