Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Texas Capital raised Atlanticus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC set a $144.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, William Blair set a $100.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.00.

Atlanticus Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:ATLC opened at $93.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 2.02. 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 has a 1 year low of $47.50 and a 1 year high of $114.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.74 and a 200-day moving average of $83.66.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $744.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.35 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 25.17%. Equities analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Atlanticus news, CEO Jeffrey A. Howard sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total transaction of $1,030,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 663,265 shares in the company, valued at $68,322,927.65. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO William McCamey sold 10,000 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total transaction of $1,030,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 127,410 shares in the company, valued at $13,124,504.10. This trade represents a 7.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,535,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,161,293. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atlanticus in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,032,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter worth $2,281,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter worth $1,500,000. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a financial technology company that provides credit and related financial services to consumers, particularly those who may have limited access to traditional lending products. The company works with merchants, financial institutions and other business partners to offer financing options at the point of sale and through direct-to-consumer channels.

Its consumer finance activities include retail credit programs, private-label and general-purpose credit cards, personal lending products and other installment financing.