Horizon Investment Services LLC Acquires Shares of 11,068 Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Horizon Investment Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,068 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $617,000. Horizon Investment Services LLC owned 0.08% of Atlanticus at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Atlanticus by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Atlanticus by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 19,776 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Atlanticus during the third quarter worth about $1,654,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Atlanticus by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,004 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 9,026 shares in the last quarter. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ATLC. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. B. Riley upgraded shares of Atlanticus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Atlanticus Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of ATLC opened at $51.78 on Friday. 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 Holdings Co. has a 52 week low of $23.10 and a 52 week high of $64.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 2.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.46 and a 200-day moving average of $49.40.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The credit services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $353.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.02 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.