Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives $57.20 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.20.

A number of analysts recently commented on ATLC shares. JMP Securities lifted their price objective 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 raised their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley raised shares of Atlanticus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock.

Atlanticus Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ATLC opened at $56.72 on Friday. 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 $55.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.30. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $64.70. The company has a market capitalization of $836.00 million, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 2.05.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. Equities analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,831,550.15. This represents a 23.89 % 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 worth $962,522 in the last three months. Company insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted 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 buying an additional 6,087 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $4,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter worth $313,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,654,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Atlanticus by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 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.