Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reaffirms "Market Perform" Rating for Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating restated by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock, up from their prior price objective of $52.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective points to a potential upside of 14.35% from the company's current price.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Atlanticus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $62.60.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of ATLC traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $52.47. 41,786 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,544. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.86. Atlanticus has a 1 year low of $24.02 and a 1 year high of $64.70. The stock has a market cap of $793.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.85.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The credit services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.16. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. The firm had revenue of $344.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.24 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 198.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 365,278 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $18,684,000 after purchasing an additional 243,053 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 125,558 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43,142 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,828,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the first quarter worth approximately $2,588,000. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by 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.