Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Trading 5.9% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) shares traded up 5.9% on Thursday 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 $48.90 and last traded at $48.90. 24,371 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 44% from the average session volume of 16,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.18.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ATLC. Stephens assumed coverage on Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 64,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,036,339.25. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 285.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 6,087 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the third quarter worth $313,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the third quarter worth $1,654,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Atlanticus by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Stock Down 1.3 %

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 company has a market cap of $716.07 million, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.69 and a 200 day moving average of $32.32.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. The company had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.64 million. Research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.51 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.