Stephens Initiates Coverage on Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $54.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

Atlanticus Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Atlanticus stock opened at $48.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $716.07 million, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.92. Atlanticus has a twelve month low of $23.09 and a twelve month high of $49.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $78,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 64,955 shares in the company, valued at $2,036,339.25. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 51.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,654,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus in the third quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Atlanticus by 285.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 6,087 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,655,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after buying an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.