Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Buy Rating from BTIG Research

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $179.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 92.96% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, HSBC set a $144.00 price objective on Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, July 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.00.

Atlanticus Stock Up 1.5%

Atlanticus stock traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $92.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 44,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,946. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Atlanticus has a 52-week low of $47.50 and a 52-week high of $114.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 2.02.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $744.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.35 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 5.80%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 9.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Howard sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total transaction of $1,030,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 663,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,322,927.65. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III sold 15,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.26, for a total transaction of $1,634,379.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 259,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,044,209.92. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $5,679,627. 51.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATLC. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Atlanticus in the second quarter valued at approximately $669,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new stake in Atlanticus in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,500,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus in the 2nd quarter worth $269,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the second quarter worth $7,286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.