Sheets Smith Wealth Management Acquires 610 Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,653 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $639,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 7.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 93,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,461,000 after buying an additional 6,429 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,679,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $80,211,000 after buying an additional 11,195 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 232,440 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,101,000 after purchasing an additional 13,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at $453,000.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $275,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,404 shares in the company, valued at $2,120,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECPG. TheStreet cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Monday.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:ECPG traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $43.43. 86,976 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 164,077. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $54.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -4.96 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.45.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The asset manager reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.03. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 16.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $277.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.77 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.