Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

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

ATLC has been the subject of several research reports. B. Riley raised Atlanticus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 for the company. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective 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.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $57.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $852.86 million, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 2.10. Atlanticus has a 1 year low of $23.09 and a 1 year high of $64.70.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $889,022.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at $2,831,550.15. This represents a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the business’s 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,504 shares of company stock worth $962,522 over the last ninety days. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATLC. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 4th quarter worth $119,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Atlanticus by 393.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 4th quarter worth about $129,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 4th quarter worth about $280,000. 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.