Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $69.50, but opened at $67.42. Atlanticus shares last traded at $67.3860, with a volume of 5,957 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ATLC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, October 27th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Atlanticus from $78.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.00.

Atlanticus Stock Down 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Atlanticus by 151.5% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the first quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 20,442.9% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.