Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Earns Market Perform Rating from Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) in a report issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential upside of 30.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atlanticus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $25.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Atlanticus has a twelve month low of $23.09 and a twelve month high of $43.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.45.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.14. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $309.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.68 million. On average, analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.50, for a total value of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,130,577.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.50, for a total value of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 69,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,130,577.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III acquired 263,432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.21 per share, for a total transaction of $7,431,416.72. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 263,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,431,416.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Atlanticus by 23.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter worth $282,000. 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.