Homestead Advisers Corp Has $3.22 Million Stake in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Homestead Advisers Corp reduced its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 20,500 shares during the quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $3,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 168.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 83.4% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the 3rd quarter worth $174,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the second quarter worth about $200,000.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 1.6%

ECPG opened at $56.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.11. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $57.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -30.67 and a beta of 1.41.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 2.89% and a positive return on equity of 25.27%. The business had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Encore Capital Group’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 56,609 shares in the company, valued at $2,943,668. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total value of $75,120.17. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,848,916.96. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 4,923 shares of company stock worth $264,620 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECPG. Janney Montgomery Scott upped their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Zacks Research cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

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.