Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ATLC shares. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Monday. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on Atlanticus from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Atlanticus in the third quarter worth $47,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter worth about $520,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 353.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 16,666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 12,992 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $303,000. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atlanticus Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ATLC opened at $66.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. Atlanticus has a 1 year low of $41.37 and a 1 year high of $78.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.94.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.14. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 7.46%.The firm had revenue of $495.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $503.64 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.