Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Now Covered by Stephens

Stephens began coverage on shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $54.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Atlanticus from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.75.

Atlanticus Trading Down 1.3 %

ATLC opened at $48.58 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.69 and its 200-day moving average is $32.36. The company has a market cap of $716.07 million, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.92. Atlanticus has a 1-year low of $23.09 and a 1-year high of $49.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. Equities research analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $78,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 64,955 shares in the company, valued at $2,036,339.25. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 51.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Atlanticus by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Atlanticus by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.