Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.00.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Atlanticus stock opened at $92.86 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $47.50 and a fifty-two week high of $114.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.98.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $744.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.35 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 5.80%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the second quarter valued at about $43,535,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 112,407 shares during the last quarter. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,161,293. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,286,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Atlanticus by 4.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: ATLC) is a financial technology company that develops and provides credit and related financial products for consumers who may have limited access to traditional banking services. The company works with financial institution partners and merchants to deliver credit solutions through digital and point-of-sale channels.

Atlanticus’ offerings include revolving credit products, point-of-sale financing, personal loan solutions and automotive finance programs.