Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,589 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 22.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,355,000 after purchasing an additional 36,822 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,278 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 9,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,104 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,256,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECPG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,505.90. The trade was a 70.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $40.49 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.94. 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 $26.45 and a 12-month high of $51.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $949.41 million, a P/E ratio of -5.16 and a beta of 1.65.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.69. 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 $392.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal 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.