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

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 28,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ATLC. BTIG Research upped their target price on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $57.20.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In other Atlanticus news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $889,022.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $78,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares in the company, valued at $2,036,339.25. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,004 shares of company stock valued at $1,040,897 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. FMR LLC raised its stake in Atlanticus by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position 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 valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $234,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Atlanticus by 285.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 6,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Atlanticus stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.39. The company had a trading volume of 44,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $890.09 million, a PE ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus has a 1-year low of $23.09 and a 1-year high of $64.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.82.

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

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.