Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Short Interest Down 17.6% in June

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 327,500 shares, a decrease of 17.6% from the May 31st total of 397,300 shares. Approximately 6.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 18.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ATLC. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atlanticus news, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III acquired 263,432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.21 per share, with a total value of $7,431,416.72. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 263,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,431,416.72. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total transaction of $31,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,655 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,462.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III acquired 263,432 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.21 per share, for a total transaction of $7,431,416.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 263,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,431,416.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 51.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Atlanticus by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the third quarter valued at about $282,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 16.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Atlanticus by 7.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ATLC opened at $28.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $416.78 million, a PE ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 1.88. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $23.09 and a fifty-two week high of $43.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.54.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The credit services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.11. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $290.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.78 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.