Wall Street Zen Downgrades Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) to Buy

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ATLC. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.20.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of Atlanticus stock opened at $72.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Atlanticus has a 12 month low of $30.82 and a 12 month high of $75.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.04.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.21. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 8.51%.The company had revenue of $393.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.87 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.39, for a total value of $124,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,811,529.88. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 50.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the first quarter worth approximately $387,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the first quarter worth approximately $2,588,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $987,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the first quarter worth approximately $678,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Atlanticus by 28,426.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 7,391 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atlanticus Company Profile

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.