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

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLCFree Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Atlanticus from $105.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, William Blair set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.00.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Atlanticus

Atlanticus Stock Performance

ATLC opened at $93.13 on Friday. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $47.50 and a fifty-two week high of $114.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $98.54 and its 200 day moving average is $81.34.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLCGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Atlanticus had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 25.17%. The firm had revenue of $744.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.35 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Howard sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total value of $1,030,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 663,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,322,927.65. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III sold 15,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.26, for a total transaction of $1,634,379.76. Following the sale, the insider owned 259,392 shares in the company, valued at $27,044,209.92. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 75,000 shares of company stock worth $7,868,627 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Atlanticus in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,535,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the second quarter valued at about $9,161,293. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the second quarter worth about $2,032,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the second quarter worth about $1,500,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1,761.6% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after acquiring an additional 112,407 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Atlanticus

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Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a specialty financial services holding company that provides credit products and solutions to consumers across the United States. Through its subsidiaries, the company offers proprietary credit card programs, installment loan products and deposit accounts designed to serve customers who may have limited access to traditional credit. Atlanticus markets its offerings through a variety of channels, including direct‐to‐consumer online platforms, mail order, call centers and partnerships with retail and e-commerce businesses.

The company underwrites and services credit card portfolios under private-label and co-branded agreements, combining technology‐enabled underwriting with tailored customer service.

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Analyst Recommendations for Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)

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