JMP Securities Issues Positive Forecast for Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Stock Price

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) had its price objective lifted by JMP Securities from $75.00 to $78.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ATLC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.20.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ATLC opened at $60.75 on Tuesday. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $30.00 and a fifty-two week high of $64.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.85. The stock has a market cap of $918.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released 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. The company had revenue of $393.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.87 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 8.51%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 198.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 365,278 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,684,000 after purchasing an additional 243,053 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 126,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 125,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 120,071 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,000 after purchasing an additional 24,595 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,588,000. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.