Atlanticus’ (ATLC) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their market perform rating on shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $52.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $45.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ATLC. B. Riley upgraded shares of Atlanticus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atlanticus currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $61.00.

Atlanticus Stock Up 6.1 %

ATLC opened at $51.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.58. Atlanticus has a 1-year low of $23.10 and a 1-year high of $64.70. The stock has a market cap of $759.06 million, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 2.16.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The credit services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $353.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.02 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. As a group, research analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Atlanticus by 229.4% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% during the 3rd 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. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the fourth quarter worth $119,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Atlanticus in the fourth quarter valued at about $129,000. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.