22,696 Shares in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG Bought by Wakefield Asset Management LLLP

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 22,696 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth $457,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth $642,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 20,488 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,220 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Encore Capital Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on Encore Capital Group from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.25.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG opened at $81.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 1-year low of $35.67 and a 1-year high of $92.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $75.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.64.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $475.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.26 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 30.70% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $499,849.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,325,656.80. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

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.