Heartland Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 17.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 350,850 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,700 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 1.52% of Encore Capital Group worth $14,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 97.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 33,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 16,634 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 263.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 49,892 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,910 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 1,806 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,465 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after buying an additional 5,672 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $57.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.40 and a beta of 1.41. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $59.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.67 and a 200 day moving average of $48.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price objective on Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total transaction of $75,120.17. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,848,916.96. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,923 shares of company stock worth $264,620. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Encore Capital Group

Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore’s business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.