Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $54.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Atlanticus traded as high as $45.89 and last traded at $45.89, with a volume of 23369 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.50.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atlanticus currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In related news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total transaction of $39,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,151.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total value of $39,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,151.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $78,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,036,339.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ATLC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 7.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,655,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atlanticus Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.75 and its 200-day moving average is $31.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $676.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 1.92.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. On average, research analysts expect that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company, provides credit and related financial services and products to customers the United States. It operates in two segments, Credit as a Service, and Auto Finance. The Credit as a Service segment originates a range of consumer loan products, such as private label and general purpose credit cards originated by lenders through various channels, including retail and healthcare, direct mail solicitation, digital marketing, and partnerships with third parties; and offers credit to their customers for the purchase of various goods and services, including consumer electronics, furniture, elective medical procedures, healthcare, and home-improvements by partnering with retailers, healthcare providers, and other service providers.