Wall Street Zen Downgrades Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Atlanticus from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $129 target price.
• Atlanticus reported quarterly earnings of $2.50 per share, exceeding estimates of $2.42, while revenue of $744.31 million also topped expectations.
• The stock was trading at $93.13 after declining 3.7%; insiders sold 75,000 shares worth approximately $7.9 million during the last quarter.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Atlanticus from $111.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. William Blair set a $100.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Capital One Financial set a $144.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Atlanticus from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Atlanticus Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $93.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 2.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.85. Atlanticus has a 1 year low of $47.50 and a 1 year high of $114.34.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $744.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $716.35 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 5.80%. On average, research analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In related news, CFO William McCamey sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total transaction of $1,030,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,410 shares in the company, valued at $13,124,504.10. This represents a 7.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.20, for a total transaction of $1,022,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,729,100.60. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627 in the last quarter. 51.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Atlanticus in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the first quarter worth about $71,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the first quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 334.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,735 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a specialty financial services holding company that provides credit products and solutions to consumers across the United States. Through its subsidiaries, the company offers proprietary credit card programs, installment loan products and deposit accounts designed to serve customers who may have limited access to traditional credit. Atlanticus markets its offerings through a variety of channels, including direct‐to‐consumer online platforms, mail order, call centers and partnerships with retail and e-commerce businesses.

The company underwrites and services credit card portfolios under private-label and co-branded agreements, combining technology‐enabled underwriting with tailored customer service.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source