Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.00.

ATLC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC set a $144.00 target price on Atlanticus in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Capital One Financial set a $144.00 price target on Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Texas Capital upgraded Atlanticus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III sold 15,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.26, for a total value of $1,634,379.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 259,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,044,209.92. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William Mccamey sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,124,504.10. The trade was a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627 in the last three months. 51.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Atlanticus by 274.6% during the first 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Atlanticus during the first quarter worth approximately $1,083,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Atlanticus in the first quarter worth approximately $71,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Atlanticus by 47.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 241.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,039 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 12,751 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

ATLC stock opened at $102.58 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $47.50 and a fifty-two week high of $114.34.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. Atlanticus had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 25.17%. The firm had revenue of $744.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.35 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.