Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Short Interest Update

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 249,200 shares, a decline of 14.0% from the November 15th total of 289,700 shares. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total value of $78,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,036,339.25. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,831,550.15. The trade was a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,004 shares of company stock valued at $1,040,897. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Atlanticus by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,655,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Trading Down 0.7 %

ATLC traded down $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 44,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,523. The firm has a market capitalization of $890.09 million, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus has a twelve month low of $23.09 and a twelve month high of $64.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. Analysts anticipate that Atlanticus will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ATLC. Stephens began coverage on Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities upped their target price on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

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.