Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

ATLC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $105.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC set a $144.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.00.

Atlanticus Price Performance

NASDAQ:ATLC opened at $100.01 on Friday. Atlanticus has a one year low of $47.50 and a one year high of $114.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.25.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $744.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.35 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 26.06% and a net margin of 5.80%. Equities research analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, CFO William Mccamey sold 10,000 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,410 shares in the company, valued at $13,124,504.10. This trade represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III sold 15,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 259,392 shares in the company, valued at $27,044,209.92. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Atlanticus by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 704,282 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $47,152,000 after purchasing an additional 249,100 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the second quarter worth $43,535,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 6.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 305,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,912,000 after buying an additional 19,159 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 1,761.6% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after buying an additional 112,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 117,071 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,838,000 after buying an additional 10,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.