Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 33.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 302,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 150,746 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $11,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 345.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,888 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,469 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total transaction of $75,120.17. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,848,916.96. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,943,668. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Encore Capital Group stock opened at $55.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $56.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.23 and a beta of 1.48.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.25. The company had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 25.27% and a negative net margin of 2.89%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ECPG. Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott boosted their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

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.