Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $59.17 and last traded at $58.62, with a volume of 2819 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATLC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research raised their price target on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley increased their target price on Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.20.

Atlanticus Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $917.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.71 and a 200 day moving average of $34.59.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,831,550.15. This trade represents a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,291. This trade represents a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,204 shares of company stock worth $1,080,197. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,654,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the third quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Barclays PLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,087 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Atlanticus by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.