BTIG Research Reiterates Buy Rating for Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $179.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 93.04% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ATLC. William Blair set a $100.00 price objective on Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Texas Capital raised Atlanticus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Atlanticus Price Performance

NASDAQ:ATLC traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $92.73. The stock had a trading volume of 46,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,963. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.87. Atlanticus has a 52 week low of $47.50 and a 52 week high of $114.34.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $744.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.35 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 5.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III sold 15,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.26, for a total value of $1,634,379.76. Following the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey A. 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 value of $1,030,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 663,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,322,927.65. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. 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 in the last three months. 51.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Atlanticus during the second quarter worth approximately $43,535,000. 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. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the second quarter valued at $9,161,293. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter worth $7,286,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Atlanticus by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

About Atlanticus

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.