Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Shares Up 7.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) shares were up 7.9% during trading on Thursday after Citizens Jmp raised their price target on the stock from $95.00 to $100.00. Citizens Jmp currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Atlanticus traded as high as $67.62 and last traded at $68.6250. Approximately 39,878 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 63,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.59.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Monday. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on Atlanticus from $78.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atlanticus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 1st quarter worth about $678,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Atlanticus by 78.3% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in Atlanticus during the first quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 468.2% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 69,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after acquiring an additional 57,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 2.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.14. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 7.46%.The business had revenue of $495.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $503.64 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Atlanticus Holdings Corporation will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

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.