Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.60.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ATLC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ATLC opened at $50.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.18. The firm has a market cap of $762.65 million, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.85. Atlanticus has a one year low of $24.02 and a one year high of $64.70.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The credit services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.16. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $344.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.24 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Atlanticus by 198.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 365,278 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,684,000 after buying an additional 243,053 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Atlanticus by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 125,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,004,000 after buying an additional 20,800 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Atlanticus by 82.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 95,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 43,142 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the fourth quarter worth about $3,828,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the first quarter valued at about $2,588,000. 14.15% of the stock is 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.