Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ATLC. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a market perform rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Atlanticus in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a buy rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atlanticus currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $39.25.

Atlanticus Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of ATLC opened at $35.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.00. Atlanticus has a 52 week low of $23.09 and a 52 week high of $40.83.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The credit services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $290.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.78 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 26.67% and a net margin of 8.67%. On average, analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total transaction of $31,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,655 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,462.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Atlanticus by 65.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Atlanticus by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in Atlanticus by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 26,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Atlanticus by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 602,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,290,000 after purchasing an additional 7,234 shares during the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.