Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $71.89 and last traded at $72.60, with a volume of 5784 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ATLC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.20.

Atlanticus Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 2.00.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.21. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 24.20%. The business had revenue of $393.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.87 million. Equities research analysts predict that Atlanticus Holdings Corporation will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlanticus Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.4766 per share. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.39, for a total transaction of $124,780.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $3,811,529.88. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 50.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 151.5% during the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Atlanticus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Atlanticus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $71,000. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in Atlanticus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Atlanticus by 334.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,735 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.