Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Price Target Raised to $70.00 at B. Riley

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) had its price target lifted by analysts at B. Riley from $50.00 to $70.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. B. Riley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 30.84% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ATLC. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens initiated coverage on Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Atlanticus Trading Up 3.9 %

NASDAQ ATLC traded up $2.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $53.50. 9,274 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,598. The firm has a market cap of $788.59 million, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $53.50.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.04. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atlanticus news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $55,909.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $78,375.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 64,955 shares in the company, valued at $2,036,339.25. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,200 shares of company stock valued at $191,175. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the third quarter worth $1,654,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Atlanticus during the third quarter worth approximately $313,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Atlanticus by 285.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,298,000 after buying an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.