Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

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

Atlanticus Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of ATLC opened at $54.01 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $41.37 and a 52 week high of $78.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.86.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.39, for a total transaction of $124,780.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 50.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ATLC. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 151.5% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Atlanticus in the first quarter valued at about $56,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Atlanticus in the first quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the first quarter worth about $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.