Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 282,000 shares, a growth of 13.2% from the November 30th total of 249,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 34,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.1 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In related news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $889,022.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,831,550.15. This trade represents a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,504 shares of company stock valued at $962,522 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,654,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ATLC. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.20.

Atlanticus Stock Down 0.6 %

ATLC stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.95. 2,322 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,716. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $839.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $64.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.31.

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