Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.6667.

ATLC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Atlanticus from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Atlanticus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 704,282 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $47,152,000 after acquiring an additional 249,100 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Atlanticus by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 305,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,912,000 after acquiring an additional 19,159 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Atlanticus by 1,761.6% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,233,000 after purchasing an additional 112,407 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Atlanticus by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 117,071 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,838,000 after purchasing an additional 10,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Atlanticus by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 112,147 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,508,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of ATLC opened at $83.14 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Atlanticus has a one year low of $45.74 and a one year high of $89.00. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 2.14.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The credit services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.54. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 5.86%.The company had revenue of $679.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $749.36 million. Research analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlanticus Company Profile

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a specialty financial services holding company that provides credit products and solutions to consumers across the United States. Through its subsidiaries, the company offers proprietary credit card programs, installment loan products and deposit accounts designed to serve customers who may have limited access to traditional credit. Atlanticus markets its offerings through a variety of channels, including direct‐to‐consumer online platforms, mail order, call centers and partnerships with retail and e-commerce businesses.

The company underwrites and services credit card portfolios under private-label and co-branded agreements, combining technology‐enabled underwriting with tailored customer service.