Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Holdings in Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 687.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,144 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,078 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 263.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 49,892 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,910 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,465 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,690,000 after acquiring an additional 5,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 599.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 44,682 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 38,293 shares during the period.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Encore Capital Group stock opened at $102.21 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.87. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.82. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 52-week low of $39.94 and a 52-week high of $104.98.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $491.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $455.10 million. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 15.86% and a return on equity of 29.83%. Encore Capital Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-14.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Yung sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.08, for a total transaction of $164,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,299,905.60. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on Encore Capital Group from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Encore Capital Group from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

Encore Capital Group Profile

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.