Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Downgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a market perform rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $40.50.

Atlanticus Price Performance

NASDAQ ATLC opened at $24.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $368.27 million, a P/E ratio of 5.87 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 1 year low of $23.09 and a 1 year high of $43.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.40.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atlanticus news, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III acquired 263,432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.21 per share, for a total transaction of $7,431,416.72. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 263,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,431,416.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III purchased 263,432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.21 per share, for a total transaction of $7,431,416.72. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 263,432 shares in the company, valued at $7,431,416.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Atlanticus in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Atlanticus by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter valued at $282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

About Atlanticus

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.