Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Seven brokerages give Atlanticus a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy (2 holds, 4 buys, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $91.25.
• Atlanticus beat the latest quarter's expectations, reporting EPS of $1.75 versus $1.65 expected and revenue of $734.4 million versus $691.8 million, with a 22.39% return on equity.
• Institutional investors have been increasing positions—Wellington now holds 704,282 shares (~$47.15M)—and overall institutional ownership is 14.15%.

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.25.

ATLC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Atlanticus from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Atlanticus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Atlanticus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Atlanticus from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Friday, March 27th.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Atlanticus by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 704,282 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $47,152,000 after purchasing an additional 249,100 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Atlanticus by 1,761.6% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,788 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,233,000 after purchasing an additional 112,407 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Atlanticus by 133.5% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 93,234 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,105,000 after purchasing an additional 53,312 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Atlanticus by 333.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 37,582 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 28,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Atlanticus in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,083,000. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ATLC opened at $76.68 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.44 and a 200 day moving average of $59.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 1.88. Atlanticus has a 1-year low of $45.74 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The credit services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $734.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $691.81 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 22.39% and a net margin of 6.21%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Atlanticus

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.

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