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

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by BTIG Research in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $179.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 93.51% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ATLC. HSBC set a $144.00 price objective on Atlanticus in a report on Monday, July 13th. Texas Capital raised Atlanticus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Capital One Financial set a $144.00 price objective on Atlanticus in a report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.00.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ATLC traded up $1.11 on Tuesday, reaching $92.50. 77,247 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 111,136. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 2.02. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $47.50 and a fifty-two week high of $114.34. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.87. 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 (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $744.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.35 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 9.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Howard sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.20, for a total value of $1,022,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,729,100.60. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,679,627 over the last three months. 51.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,535,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,161,293. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,286,000. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1,761.6% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after acquiring an additional 112,407 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.