Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.75.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ATLC shares. B. Riley upped their price objective on Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens assumed 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. StockNews.com upgraded Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In related news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total transaction of $39,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,151.25. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,291. This represents a 16.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,200 shares of company stock valued at $191,175 over the last ninety days. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Atlanticus by 5.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Atlanticus by 65.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atlanticus Trading Up 5.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ATLC traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $54.37. The company had a trading volume of 15,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,622. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.86. Atlanticus has a one year low of $23.09 and a one year high of $54.37. 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 company has a market capitalization of $801.41 million, a PE ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 1.92.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

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.