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

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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATLC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research started coverage on Atlanticus in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th.

Atlanticus Stock Up 8.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $506.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.08 and a 200 day moving average of $29.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The credit services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $315.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.74 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.32% and a net margin of 8.42%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total value of $39,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,209,151.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 51.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ATLC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,234 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 920 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. 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.