Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Trading 5.9% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC)’s share price traded up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $54.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Atlanticus traded as high as $48.90 and last traded at $48.90. 24,371 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 44% from the average session volume of 16,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.18.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on ATLC. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total value of $78,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,036,339.25. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Atlanticus by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Atlanticus by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Atlanticus by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Atlanticus by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atlanticus Trading Down 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $716.07 million, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $36.69 and a 200-day moving average of $32.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. Analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.