Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives “Buy” Rating from BTIG Research

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $179.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 96.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Texas Capital raised shares of Atlanticus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. William Blair set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Capital One Financial set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.00.

Atlanticus Price Performance

NASDAQ ATLC traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.93. 45,384 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 110,988. 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 has a 12-month low of $47.50 and a 12-month high of $114.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 2.02.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. Atlanticus had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 25.17%. The firm had revenue of $744.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.35 million. As a group, analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 9.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In related news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.20, for a total value of $1,022,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,729,100.60. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Howard sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total transaction of $1,030,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 663,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,322,927.65. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATLC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Atlanticus in the second quarter worth approximately $43,535,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Atlanticus by 1,761.6% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,233,000 after buying an additional 112,407 shares in the last quarter. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new position in Atlanticus in the second quarter worth approximately $9,161,293. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Atlanticus in the second quarter worth approximately $7,286,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in Atlanticus by 333.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 37,582 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,516,000 after buying an additional 28,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a financial technology company that provides credit and related financial services to consumers, particularly those who may have limited access to traditional lending products. The company works with merchants, financial institutions and other business partners to offer financing options at the point of sale and through direct-to-consumer channels.

Its consumer finance activities include retail credit programs, private-label and general-purpose credit cards, personal lending products and other installment financing.