Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Atlanticus from a "hold" to a "strong-buy," joining recent positive revisions (including Wall Street Zen); analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $91.25 (1 Strong Buy, 4 Buy, 2 Hold).
• Atlanticus beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.75 vs. $1.65 and revenue of $734.39 million vs. $691.81 million, and the company has a $1.07 billion market cap and a P/E of 12.03; analysts expect FY EPS of 8.48.
• Institutional investors have increased positions recently—Wellington Management boosted its stake by 54.7% to 704,282 shares while Vanguard, State Street and others also added; institutions now own 14.15% of the stock.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ATLC has been the subject of several other research reports. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.25.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ATLC opened at $71.71 on Monday. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $45.74 and a fifty-two week high of $78.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $56.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.16.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The credit services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.10. Atlanticus had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 22.39%. The business had revenue of $734.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $691.81 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 704,282 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $47,152,000 after purchasing an additional 249,100 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Atlanticus by 6.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 305,772 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $17,912,000 after purchasing an additional 19,159 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Atlanticus by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 117,071 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,838,000 after purchasing an additional 10,409 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in Atlanticus by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 112,147 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,508,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Atlanticus by 13.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 93,529 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,479,000 after buying an additional 10,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

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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