Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Upgraded at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

ATLC has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens started coverage on Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atlanticus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $57.20.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $55.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $64.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.37 and a 200-day moving average of $40.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. The company had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $55,909.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % 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 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total value of $889,022.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,831,550.15. This trade represents a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,504 shares of company stock worth $962,522. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter worth $1,654,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus in the third quarter worth $313,000. 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 valued at $4,298,000 after buying an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 285.6% in 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. 14.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atlanticus Company Profile

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.