Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Issues Earnings Results

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.14, Zacks reports. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 8.51%.The business had revenue of $495.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $503.64 million.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of ATLC opened at $51.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $781.81 million, a P/E ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 2.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.80. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $41.37 and a fifty-two week high of $78.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Atlanticus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.4766 per share. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 133.5% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 93,234 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,105,000 after acquiring an additional 53,312 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,083,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 305,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,912,000 after purchasing an additional 19,159 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 274.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,314 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 17,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the second quarter worth $701,000. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, October 27th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $78.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.80.

About Atlanticus

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.