Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $52.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $45.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 7.11% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. B. Riley raised Atlanticus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Atlanticus stock opened at $48.55 on Monday. Atlanticus has a one year low of $23.10 and a one year high of $64.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.56. The company has a market cap of $715.58 million, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 2.16.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The credit services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $353.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.02 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. As a group, analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Atlanticus by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Atlanticus by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Atlanticus by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,413 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Atlanticus by 229.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Atlanticus by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

About Atlanticus

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.