Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Short Interest Up 14.1% in May

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) saw a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 397,300 shares, a growth of 14.1% from the May 15th total of 348,200 shares. Approximately 8.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 22.3 days.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

Shares of ATLC stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $26.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,101. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.36 and a 200 day moving average of $30.84. The stock has a market cap of $398.00 million, a PE ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Atlanticus has a 12-month low of $23.09 and a 12-month high of $43.70.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The credit services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.11. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $290.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Atlanticus will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total value of $31,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,462.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Atlanticus news, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III purchased 263,432 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.21 per share, for a total transaction of $7,431,416.72. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 263,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,431,416.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total transaction of $31,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,462.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlanticus

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,050 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 920 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 7,234 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ATLC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Atlanticus in a research 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 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atlanticus currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

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.