Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Coverage Initiated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $33.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock.

ATLC has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $40.50.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ATLC opened at $25.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.85 million, a PE ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.32. Atlanticus has a twelve month low of $23.09 and a twelve month high of $43.70.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $309.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $304.68 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 26.67% and a net margin of 8.67%. Equities analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III purchased 263,432 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.21 per share, for a total transaction of $7,431,416.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 263,432 shares in the company, valued at $7,431,416.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.50, for a total value of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,130,577.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III acquired 263,432 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.21 per share, with a total value of $7,431,416.72. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 263,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,431,416.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Atlanticus during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus in the third quarter worth approximately $282,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Atlanticus by 23.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Atlanticus by 62.4% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.