Brokerages Set Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Target Price at $57.20

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.20.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens assumed coverage on Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of Atlanticus stock opened at $57.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.64. The firm has a market cap of $847.49 million, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus has a 12 month low of $23.09 and a 12 month high of $64.70.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. The business had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $55,909.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total value of $889,022.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,831,550.15. The trade was a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,504 shares of company stock valued at $962,522 in the last quarter. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,654,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Atlanticus by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.