Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) just refinanced a $750 million term securitization through its Mercury subsidiaries, locking in a new three year bond structure that cuts the coupon by over 200 basis points and immediately lowers funding costs.

The refinancing news lands against a backdrop of strong momentum, with a 1 month share price return of 29.17% and year to date share price gains of 21.75%. The 3 year total shareholder return of 154.36% points to a longer term wealth creation story despite some recent volatility.

If this kind of funding driven rerating has your attention, it might be a good moment to explore fast growing stocks with high insider ownership for more fast moving opportunities with significant insider ownership.

With funding costs dropping, earnings growing over 30 percent annually, and the share price still sitting almost 30 percent below analyst targets, is Atlanticus quietly undervalued, or is the market already baking in years of future growth?

Price-to-Earnings of 9.6x: Is it justified?

On a last close of $66.77, Atlanticus trades at a price to earnings ratio of 9.6 times, which screens as modestly valued but not obviously cheap versus its direct Consumer Finance peers.

The price to earnings multiple compares what investors are paying today for each dollar of current earnings, a crucial lens for profitable lenders and specialty finance platforms like Atlanticus. For a business with positive net income of $105.26 million and strong earnings momentum, this ratio helps indicate how much of that growth the market is already pricing in.

Relative signals are mixed, and that tension matters. Versus the broader Consumer Finance industry average of 9.2 times, Atlanticus looks slightly expensive, suggesting investors are paying a small premium to own its earnings stream. Yet compared with a peer average multiple of 37.6 times, the stock trades at a steep discount, and our fair price to earnings estimate of 19.8 times implies meaningful room for the market to rerate the shares higher if the growth story continues to deliver.

Result: Price-to-Earnings of 9.6x (UNDERVALUED)

However, funding tailwinds could reverse if credit losses spike in a downturn or if regulators tighten oversight of subprime and point of sale lending.

Another View, DCF Says the Market Is Still Skeptical

Our DCF model points to a fair value of $75.82 per share, around 11.9 percent above the current $66.77 price. This suggests Atlanticus is modestly undervalued rather than an obvious bargain. Is this a cautious green light for patient investors, or a sign expectations are already stretched?

Simply Wall St performs a discounted cash flow (DCF) on every stock in the world every day (check out Atlanticus Holdings for example). We show the entire calculation in full. You can track the result in your watchlist or portfolio and be alerted when this changes, or use our stock screener to discover 903 undervalued stocks based on their cash flows. If you save a screener we even alert you when new companies match - so you never miss a potential opportunity.

Build Your Own Atlanticus Holdings Narrative

If you have a different view or want to dig into the numbers yourself, you can build a custom narrative in just a few minutes: Do it your way.

A great starting point for your Atlanticus Holdings research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.