Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Separately, JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ATLC opened at $27.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $400.04 million, a PE ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.63. Atlanticus has a twelve month low of $23.20 and a twelve month high of $43.70.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $309.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $304.68 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 27.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In related news, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III acquired 263,432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 263,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,431,416.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III bought 263,432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $7,431,416.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.50, for a total value of $61,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 69,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,130,577.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 52.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATLC. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Atlanticus in the third quarter worth $30,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% in the 1st 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 during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Atlanticus by 62.4% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Atlanticus in the third quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.