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

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 157,600 shares, a drop of 14.8% from the January 15th total of 184,900 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 57,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total value of $889,022.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at $2,831,550.15. The trade was a 23.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 51.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Atlanticus by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Atlanticus by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,413 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Atlanticus by 229.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Atlanticus by 5.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ATLC shares. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley raised Atlanticus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Atlanticus in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

NASDAQ ATLC opened at $59.82 on Monday. Atlanticus has a fifty-two week low of $23.09 and a fifty-two week high of $64.70. The stock has a market cap of $881.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 2.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.91 and a 200-day moving average of $45.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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.