Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at B. Riley

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) was upgraded by stock analysts at B. Riley to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

ATLC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

Atlanticus Price Performance

NASDAQ ATLC opened at $55.98 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.71. Atlanticus has a 52-week low of $23.09 and a 52-week high of $64.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. The company had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.64 million. Equities research analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $55,909.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $889,022.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,831,550.15. This trade represents a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,504 shares of company stock worth $962,522. 51.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,298,000 after buying an additional 2,348 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Atlanticus by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,654,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Atlanticus by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter worth $313,000. 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.