Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lowered its holdings in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 197,890 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,080 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $10,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECPG. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,825 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,632,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 1,729.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ECPG shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.25.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $81.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. Encore Capital Group Inc has a twelve month low of $35.67 and a twelve month high of $92.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.91.

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

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.