Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Shares Gap Up to $34.06

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $34.06, but opened at $35.18. Atlanticus shares last traded at $35.18, with a volume of 410 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ATLC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. 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 price objective for the company.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.23 and its 200 day moving average is $29.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $513.39 million, a PE ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.93.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The credit services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $315.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.74 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 25.32%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,036,339.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,036,339.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total transaction of $39,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,209,151.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 602,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,290,000 after purchasing an additional 7,234 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 26,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised 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 purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.