Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Receives $61.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $52.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, March 17th. B. Riley raised Atlanticus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of Atlanticus stock traded down $1.22 on Wednesday, reaching $51.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 103,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,570. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $782.65 million, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 2.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.54. Atlanticus has a 52-week low of $23.10 and a 52-week high of $64.70.

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

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Atlanticus in the third quarter worth approximately $313,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,654,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Atlanticus by 285.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Atlanticus by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,298,000 after buying an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Atlanticus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $425,000. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.