Short Interest in Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Drops By 14.0%

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 249,200 shares, a decrease of 14.0% from the November 15th total of 289,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.7 days. Approximately 5.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In related news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at $2,831,550.15. This trade represents a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $55,909.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,291. This trade represents a 16.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,504 shares of company stock valued at $962,522 over the last three months. 51.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter worth $1,654,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Atlanticus during the third quarter worth about $313,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Atlanticus by 285.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 6,087 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ ATLC opened at $60.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $890.09 million, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus has a 52-week low of $23.09 and a 52-week high of $64.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.89.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JMP Securities upped their target price 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, Stephens started coverage on Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atlanticus currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

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.