Wall Street Zen Upgrades Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) to “Strong-Buy”

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on ATLC. Weiss Ratings upgraded Atlanticus from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research cut Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair set a $100.00 target price on Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of ATLC opened at $100.14 on Friday. Atlanticus has a 1-year low of $47.50 and a 1-year high of $114.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.06. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 2.11.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 5.80%.The company had revenue of $744.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.35 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In other news, CEO Jeffrey A. Howard sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total value of $1,030,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 663,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,322,927.65. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO William Mccamey sold 10,000 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total value of $1,030,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 127,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,124,504.10. This trade represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 75,000 shares of company stock worth $7,868,627. 51.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Atlanticus by 274.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,314 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 17,091 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,083,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the first quarter worth about $71,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Atlanticus by 47.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 38,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,960,000 after buying an additional 12,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Atlanticus by 241.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,039 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $988,000 after buying an additional 12,751 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Atlanticus

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.