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

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 211,200 shares, an increase of 25.0% from the February 28th total of 168,900 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 59,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Atlanticus by 159.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 122,225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,818,000 after buying an additional 75,068 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the fourth quarter worth $376,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the fourth quarter valued at $987,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 35.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atlanticus Stock Down 1.2 %

ATLC stock opened at $51.15 on Tuesday. Atlanticus has a 1-year low of $23.10 and a 1-year high of $64.70. The stock has a market cap of $773.13 million, a P/E ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The credit services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.19. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. The business had revenue of $353.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.02 million. Analysts expect that Atlanticus will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.