Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) CAO Mitchell Saunders Sells 16,004 Shares of Stock

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $889,022.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,831,550.15. This represents a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Atlanticus Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ATLC stock opened at $55.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $813.06 million, a PE ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. Atlanticus Holdings Co. has a 52-week low of $23.09 and a 52-week high of $56.42.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. On average, analysts predict that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Atlanticus by 393.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 285.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 6,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ATLC shares. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities raised their target price on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens started coverage on Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research raised their target price on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.