Heartland Advisors Inc. Purchases 34,980 Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 385,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,980 shares during the quarter. Encore Capital Group comprises 1.1% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 1.73% of Encore Capital Group worth $20,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Encore Capital Group by 95.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 6,600 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in Encore Capital Group by 232.4% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 56,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 39,740 shares during the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P boosted its position in Encore Capital Group by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 112,368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,107,000 after acquiring an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at $476,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at $7,453,000.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG opened at $80.20 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.12. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 1-year low of $35.67 and a 1-year high of $92.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $475.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ECPG. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.25.

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.