Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ATLC. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday, September 18th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Monday, October 27th. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Atlanticus from $78.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.80.

Atlanticus Price Performance

ATLC stock opened at $54.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.84. The firm has a market cap of $816.90 million, a P/E ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Atlanticus has a 1 year low of $41.37 and a 1 year high of $78.91.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.21. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 8.51%.The company had revenue of $393.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $373.87 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atlanticus Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4766 per share. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In related news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.39, for a total value of $124,780.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,811,529.88. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 50.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 1st quarter worth about $696,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Atlanticus in the first quarter valued at approximately $56,000. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Atlanticus by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,751 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in Atlanticus during the first quarter worth approximately $583,000. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.