Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research 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 price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.60.

A number of research firms have recently commented on ATLC. 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 research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Atlanticus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Atlanticus Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $51.61 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $780.65 million, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.81. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $51.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.50. Atlanticus has a 1 year low of $25.44 and a 1 year high of $64.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Atlanticus by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 125,558 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,800 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Atlanticus by 82.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 95,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 43,142 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Atlanticus during the 4th quarter valued at $3,828,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Atlanticus during the 1st quarter valued at $2,588,000. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

About Atlanticus

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.

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