Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Short Interest Down 32.7% in December

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 189,800 shares, a decline of 32.7% from the December 15th total of 282,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 41,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATLC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens began coverage on Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. B. Riley raised shares of Atlanticus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.20.

Atlanticus Price Performance

NASDAQ ATLC traded up $0.96 on Thursday, hitting $60.01. The company had a trading volume of 14,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,636. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $884.55 million, a PE ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $64.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.62.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $351.22 million during 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Atlanticus will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at $2,831,550.15. The trade was a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $55,909.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,504 shares of company stock valued at $962,522 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the third quarter valued at about $313,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,654,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Atlanticus by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Atlanticus by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 285.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

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.