Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at B. Riley

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) was upgraded by equities researchers at B. Riley to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

Atlanticus Stock Down 0.2 %

Atlanticus stock opened at $55.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.09 million, a P/E ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 2.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.71. Atlanticus has a twelve month low of $23.09 and a twelve month high of $64.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In other news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total value of $889,022.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,831,550.15. This represents a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $55,909.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,659 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 17,504 shares of company stock valued at $962,522 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in Atlanticus by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 285.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

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.