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 report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ATLC. HSBC set a $144.00 price objective on Atlanticus in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.86.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

NASDAQ ATLC opened at $81.12 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $92.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 1.80. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $47.50 and a fifty-two week high of $114.34. 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 (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The credit services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $775.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $775.08 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 25.17%. On average, equities analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 9.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. Virtus Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Atlanticus by 25.1% in the third quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 4,753 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,616 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 27,401 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,398,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a financial technology and consumer finance company that provides credit products to consumers, including people who may have limited access to traditional credit. It works with banks, retailers and other partners to offer credit cards, installment loans and point-of-sale financing.

The company’s offerings include general-purpose and private-label credit cards, as well as financing for purchases in areas such as healthcare and home improvement. Atlanticus also provides financing solutions through relationships with auto dealers and other businesses.

Founded in 1996 as CompuCredit, the company later adopted the Atlanticus name.