Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Takes $1.04 Million Position in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 21,826 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,043,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 827.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 152.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of ECPG opened at $40.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $955.21 million, a P/E ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.45 and a 12 month high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.69. The firm had revenue of $392.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.49 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encore Capital Group news, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 96,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,401,505.90. The trade was a 70.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ashish Masih purchased 20,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at $11,324,005.56. This trade represents a 6.62% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECPG shares. StockNews.com upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group 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.