Wellington Management Group LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its position in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 699,373 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 56,962 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $33,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECPG. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth about $150,000. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth about $248,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities boosted their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In related news, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,404,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,505.90. The trade was a 70.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ashish Masih acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG opened at $31.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $742.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.70 and its 200 day moving average is $45.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.87 and a 1-year high of $51.77.

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

Encore Capital Group Company 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.