Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) saw a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 329,000 shares, a drop of 9.9% from the August 31st total of 365,100 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 19,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,151.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.75, for a total transaction of $39,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,151.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $78,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,036,339.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1.2% during the 4th 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. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% during 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. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Finally, 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ATLC opened at $35.08 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.90 million, a P/E ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Atlanticus has a 1-year low of $23.09 and a 1-year high of $39.53.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The credit services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.74 million. Analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATLC has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th.

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.