Barclays PLC Acquires 6,087 Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) by 285.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,087 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Atlanticus were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Atlanticus by 2.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Atlanticus in the third quarter worth $1,654,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Atlanticus by 5.0% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Atlanticus in the third quarter worth $313,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Atlanticus by 9.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total value of $889,022.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,831,550.15. This represents a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,291. This trade represents a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,504 shares of company stock valued at $962,522 over the last three months. 51.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atlanticus Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of ATLC opened at $55.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $821.40 million, a P/E ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus Holdings Co. has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $64.70. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.10.

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 company had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.64 million. Equities research analysts expect that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share 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.