Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $75.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. 15,479 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the previous session’s volume of 18,587 shares.The stock last traded at $61.00 and had previously closed at $59.15.

ATLC has been the topic of a number of other reports. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research increased their price target 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 assumed coverage on Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atlanticus news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total value of $39,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,151.25. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at $277,291. The trade was a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,204 shares of company stock valued at $1,080,197 over the last 90 days. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atlanticus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,654,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Atlanticus during the third quarter worth about $313,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 6,087 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Atlanticus by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Atlanticus by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,298,000 after buying an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.34. The company has a market cap of $934.81 million, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.