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

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.00.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATLC. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. B. Riley raised Atlanticus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 229.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 728 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Atlanticus by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Atlanticus by 158.8% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in Atlanticus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,000. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Atlanticus Stock Down 2.1 %

ATLC traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,226. The stock's 50-day moving average is $54.60 and its 200-day moving average is $49.26. Atlanticus has a 1 year low of $23.10 and a 1 year high of $64.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $783.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The credit services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.19. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $353.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.02 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

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.