Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 16,813 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 0% from the previous session’s volume of 16,803 shares.The stock last traded at $35.58 and had previously closed at $35.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reiterated 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 assumed coverage on Atlanticus in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

Atlanticus Trading Down 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.93 million, a P/E ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 1.88.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The credit services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $290.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.78 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 26.67% and a net margin of 8.67%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.05, for a total value of $31,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,788,462.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 602,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,290,000 after purchasing an additional 7,234 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in Atlanticus by 5.2% in 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Atlanticus by 65.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Atlanticus by 7.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Atlanticus by 1.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.