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

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATLC. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens initiated coverage on Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Atlanticus Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ATLC opened at $57.01 on Thursday. Atlanticus has a 52-week low of $23.09 and a 52-week high of $57.93. The stock has a market cap of $840.33 million, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.47. 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 (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.64 million. On average, research analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $889,022.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,831,550.15. The trade was a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,204 shares of company stock valued at $1,080,197. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted 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 worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings 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. 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 in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.