Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Short Interest Update

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 34,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATLC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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. BTIG Research raised their price objective on 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 Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.20.

Atlanticus Price Performance

ATLC traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $56.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,716. The stock has a market cap 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $55,909.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,831,550.15. The trade was a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,504 shares of company stock worth $962,522. Corporate insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Atlanticus by 5.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Atlanticus by 393.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.