Citizens Jmp Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Stock

Key Points

• Citizens Jmp raised its Atlanticus price target to $117 from $110 and maintained a “market outperform” rating, implying 44.23% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Atlanticus has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $127 average price target. Its latest quarterly results slightly beat estimates, with EPS of $3.00 and revenue of $775.85 million.
• Atlanticus shares were reported down 11.1%; institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Citizens Jmp from $110.00 to $117.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market outperform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Citizens Jmp's price target points to a potential upside of 44.23% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ATLC. Capital One Financial set a $144.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Atlanticus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. HSBC set a $144.00 target price on Atlanticus in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.00.

Atlanticus Trading Down 11.1%

Shares of ATLC opened at $81.12 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $47.50 and a 12-month high of $114.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 1.80.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The credit services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.01. Atlanticus had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 25.17%. The company had revenue of $775.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $775.08 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 9.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the second quarter worth $43,535,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,161,293. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,286,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Atlanticus by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 27,401 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,398,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Atlanticus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,281,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a financial technology and consumer finance company that provides credit products to consumers, including people who may have limited access to traditional credit. It works with banks, retailers and other partners to offer credit cards, installment loans and point-of-sale financing.

The company's offerings include general-purpose and private-label credit cards, as well as financing for purchases in areas such as healthcare and home improvement. Atlanticus also provides financing solutions through relationships with auto dealers and other businesses.

Founded in 1996 as CompuCredit, the company later adopted the Atlanticus name.

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