Insider Selling: Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Director Sells 1,200 Shares of Stock

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total value of $39,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,151.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Atlanticus stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $30.74. 11,770 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,841. Atlanticus Holdings Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.09 and a fifty-two week high of $39.53. The stock has a market cap of $454.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.73. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The credit services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $315.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.74 million. On average, research analysts expect that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Atlanticus by 7.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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.