Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Stephens

Stephens began coverage on shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $54.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Atlanticus from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atlanticus has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.75.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $48.58 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.32. The company has a market cap of $716.07 million, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $49.53.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. Analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total value of $39,300.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 51.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Atlanticus by 65.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.