Sei Investments Co. Sells 2,429 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,081 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,429 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $3,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 481,497 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,760,000 after buying an additional 18,467 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,828 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 12,789 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $156,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 900,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $42,575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of Encore Capital Group stock opened at $33.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.64. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.54 and a fifty-two week high of $51.77. The firm has a market cap of $794.60 million, a P/E ratio of -4.27 and a beta of 1.73.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ECPG. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encore Capital Group news, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 322,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,505.90. This trade represents a 70.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Encore Capital Group

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.