Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Shares Gap Up to $31.55

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.55, but opened at $33.14. Atlanticus shares last traded at $33.93, with a volume of 2,538 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company.

Atlanticus Stock Up 8.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $506.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.64.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The credit services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.12. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 25.32%. The company had revenue of $315.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.74 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Atlanticus

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the 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 owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,151.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 602,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,290,000 after purchasing an additional 7,234 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 5.2% during the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 26,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

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.