Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.20.

ATLC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities increased their price target on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BTIG Research increased their price target on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total value of $889,022.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,831,550.15. This trade represents a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $55,909.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,291. This trade represents a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,504 shares of company stock valued at $962,522 over the last quarter. 51.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. FMR LLC raised its stake in Atlanticus by 393.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Atlanticus by 158.8% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Atlanticus by 285.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 6,087 shares during the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of Atlanticus stock opened at $57.50 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.94. The company has a market capitalization of $847.49 million, a PE ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Atlanticus has a 52 week low of $23.09 and a 52 week high of $64.70.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. As a group, analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlanticus Company Profile

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company, provides credit and related financial services and products to customers the United States. It operates in two segments, Credit as a Service, and Auto Finance. The Credit as a Service segment originates a range of consumer loan products, such as private label and general purpose credit cards originated by lenders through various channels, including retail and healthcare, direct mail solicitation, digital marketing, and partnerships with third parties; and offers credit to their customers for the purchase of various goods and services, including consumer electronics, furniture, elective medical procedures, healthcare, and home-improvements by partnering with retailers, healthcare providers, and other service providers.