Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a market perform rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Atlanticus in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a buy rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Atlanticus Trading Up 3.9 %

NASDAQ ATLC opened at $27.53 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.84. Atlanticus has a twelve month low of $23.09 and a twelve month high of $43.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $407.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.88.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The credit services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.11. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 26.67% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $290.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.78 million. Research analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total value of $31,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,655 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,462.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total value of $31,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,655 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,462.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III acquired 263,432 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.21 per share, with a total value of $7,431,416.72. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 263,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,431,416.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 51.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 23.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 62.4% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 16.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the third quarter valued at approximately $282,000. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.