Brokerages Set Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Price Target at $62.60

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.60.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atlanticus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 229.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 728 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Atlanticus in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,000. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $119,000. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Atlanticus stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $53.89. 72,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,077. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $52.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.46. The firm has a market cap of $815.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. Atlanticus has a 52 week low of $25.44 and a 52 week high of $64.70.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The credit services provider reported $1.49 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.24 million. On average, analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.