Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company 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 recent research reports. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.20.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

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 50 day moving average price is $41.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $917.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 2.05.

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

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In other news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $889,022.20. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total value of $78,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,036,339.25. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,204 shares of company stock valued at $1,080,197 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted 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 valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in 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. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.