8,339 Shares in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG Acquired by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 8,339 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.8% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,308,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,606,000 after purchasing an additional 59,421 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 583,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,577,000 after acquiring an additional 14,353 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 350,850 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,644,000 after acquiring an additional 52,700 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 16.5% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,450,000 after purchasing an additional 38,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 6.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 128,041 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,956,000 after purchasing an additional 7,384 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 6.8%

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $68.29 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.62 and a 200 day moving average of $49.54. 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 $68.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 1.41.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 28.88% and a net margin of 14.52%.The firm had revenue of $473.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($9.42) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 55,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,047,550. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $75,120.17. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,848,916.96. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECPG. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price target on Encore Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.50.

Key Encore Capital Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Encore Capital Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Big Q4 beat: Encore reported $3.37 GAAP EPS vs. $2.20 consensus and revenue of $473.6M vs. $423.1M, with revenue up ~78% y/y — evidence of accelerating core performance that supports valuation re‑rating. MarketBeat Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Very strong FY‑2026 guidance: Management set EPS guidance at $12.00 for FY‑2026 (consensus ~$8.76), signaling materially higher earnings power and margin leverage going forward — a primary driver of the rally. Seeking Alpha Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades / price‑target raises: Citizens Jmp raised its PT to $90 (market outperform) and Truist raised its PT to $80 (buy), reflecting renewed analyst confidence and providing upward price momentum. Benzinga PT Raises
• Positive Sentiment: Management growth plans: Encore expects ~10% EPS growth to $12 in 2026 and is targeting $1.4B–$1.5B in portfolio purchases — indicating management is accelerating asset acquisition to sustain future revenue and earnings growth. Earnings Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials available: Full earnings slide deck and the Q4 earnings call transcript are published (useful for modeling and Q&A details). Earnings Transcript

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.