Does Atlanticus Holdings Corporation's (NASDAQ:ATLC) CEO Pay Compare Well With Peers?
In 1996 David Hanna was appointed CEO of Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC). This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
View our latest analysis for Atlanticus Holdings
How Does David Hanna's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Atlanticus Holdings Corporation has a market capitalization of US$114m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$1.1m over the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$600k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below US$200m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is US$510k.
Thus we can conclude that David Hanna receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Atlanticus Holdings Corporation. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Atlanticus Holdings has changed over time.
Is Atlanticus Holdings Corporation Growing?
Atlanticus Holdings Corporation has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 16% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is down 2.3% over last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Atlanticus Holdings Corporation Been A Good Investment?
I think that the total shareholder return of 123%, over three years, would leave most Atlanticus Holdings Corporation shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary...
We compared total CEO remuneration at Atlanticus Holdings Corporation with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. In addition, shareholders have done well over the same time period. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Atlanticus Holdings (free visualization of insider trades).
Important note: Atlanticus Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
