Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Atlanticus was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “strong-buy”, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $2.23 versus the $1.69 estimate, though revenue came in below consensus at $679.59 million.
• Insider selling has been notable: the CFO and CAO both sold shares in late June, and insiders sold 75,000 shares worth about $7.87 million over the past three months.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

ATLC has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Atlanticus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Atlanticus from $105.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. William Blair set a $100.00 target price on Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Atlanticus from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.75.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $96.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Atlanticus has a one year low of $45.74 and a one year high of $112.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.15.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The credit services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.54. Atlanticus had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The business had revenue of $679.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $749.36 million. Analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William Mccamey sold 10,000 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total transaction of $1,030,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,124,504.10. This trade represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.20, for a total transaction of $1,022,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,729,100.60. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627. 51.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Atlanticus by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 15,222 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 31,265 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 6,970 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Atlanticus by 333.2% in the 4th 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 period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Atlanticus by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $286,000. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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