Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, 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 target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.60.

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

Atlanticus Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ ATLC traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $50.74. 39,127 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,616. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Atlanticus has a 52-week low of $24.24 and a 52-week high of $64.70. The firm has a market cap of $767.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.85.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The credit services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $344.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.24 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 47.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 38,312 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 12,308 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the first quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,666,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,083,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 274.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,314 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 17,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

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.