Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Buy Rating from BTIG Research

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at BTIG Research in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $179.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 96.64% from the company’s previous close.

ATLC has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. HSBC set a $144.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Atlanticus Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Atlanticus stock opened at $91.03 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Atlanticus has a twelve month low of $47.50 and a twelve month high of $114.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 2.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.14.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $744.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.35 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 5.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 9.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 10,000 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.20, for a total transaction of $1,022,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,729,100.60. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey A. Howard sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total value of $1,030,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 663,265 shares in the company, valued at $68,322,927.65. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627. Company insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 2nd quarter valued at $669,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter worth about $418,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,500,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a financial technology company that provides credit and related financial services to consumers, particularly those who may have limited access to traditional lending products. The company works with merchants, financial institutions and other business partners to offer financing options at the point of sale and through direct-to-consumer channels.

Its consumer finance activities include retail credit programs, private-label and general-purpose credit cards, personal lending products and other installment financing.