Analysts Set Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Target Price at $57.20

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $57.20.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATLC. B. Riley upgraded Atlanticus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of ATLC opened at $58.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.23 and its 200-day moving average is $44.48. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $64.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $866.12 million, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 2.10.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.04. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. The firm had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.64 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Atlanticus by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the third quarter worth $1,654,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,004 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after buying an additional 9,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the third quarter worth about $313,000. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

About Atlanticus

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.