Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $129.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Atlanticus from $111.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.20, for a total transaction of $1,022,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,729,100.60. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III sold 15,676 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.26, for a total value of $1,634,379.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 259,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,044,209.92. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627 in the last three months. 51.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Atlanticus in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the first quarter worth about $71,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the first quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 334.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,735 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ATLC opened at $93.81 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $98.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 2.02. Atlanticus has a 52 week low of $47.50 and a 52 week high of $114.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. Atlanticus had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 25.17%. The company had revenue of $744.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.35 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlanticus Company Profile

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a specialty financial services holding company that provides credit products and solutions to consumers across the United States. Through its subsidiaries, the company offers proprietary credit card programs, installment loan products and deposit accounts designed to serve customers who may have limited access to traditional credit. Atlanticus markets its offerings through a variety of channels, including direct‐to‐consumer online platforms, mail order, call centers and partnerships with retail and e-commerce businesses.

The company underwrites and services credit card portfolios under private-label and co-branded agreements, combining technology‐enabled underwriting with tailored customer service.