Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Atlanticus holds a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from eight analysts, with five buys, two holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $126, above the reported share price of $89.24.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.50 versus the $2.42 estimate and revenue of $744.31 million versus $716.35 million expected. Analysts project full-year EPS of $9.48.
• Insiders sold 75,000 shares worth approximately $7.9 million over the past quarter, while several major investors increased their holdings; institutional and hedge-fund ownership stands at 14.15%.

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on ATLC. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Texas Capital raised shares of Atlanticus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $105.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Atlanticus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other news, CFO William Mccamey sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.01, for a total transaction of $1,030,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 127,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,124,504.10. This represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.20, for a total value of $1,022,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,729,100.60. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 51.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 54.7% in the 4th 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. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 10,840.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 589,778 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $60,305,000 after buying an additional 584,387 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the second quarter worth approximately $43,535,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Atlanticus by 6.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 305,772 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $17,912,000 after buying an additional 19,159 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 112,407 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $89.24 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $99.55 and its 200-day moving average is $80.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 2.02. Atlanticus has a 52 week low of $47.50 and a 52 week high of $114.34.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $744.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.35 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 5.80%. Equities research analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 9.48 EPS 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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