Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Stock Rating Upgraded by B. Riley

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

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

Atlanticus Stock Performance

NASDAQ ATLC opened at $55.98 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $54.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $825.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.64 million. Research analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,291. This trade represents a 16.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,504 shares of company stock worth $962,522. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATLC. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Atlanticus by 5.0% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC boosted 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 worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,823 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is 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.