Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 79,002 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 100,097 shares.The stock last traded at $92.83 and had previously closed at $95.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ATLC. BTIG Research upped their price target on Atlanticus from $105.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research lowered Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Atlanticus from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, William Blair set a $100.00 price target on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Atlanticus Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 2.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $93.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.24.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The credit services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.54. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 5.86%.The company had revenue of $679.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $749.36 million. Research analysts predict that Atlanticus Holdings Corporation will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atlanticus news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.20, for a total transaction of $1,022,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,729,100.60. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Frank J. Hanna III sold 15,676 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.26, for a total transaction of $1,634,379.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 259,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,044,209.92. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,868,627 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Atlanticus by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 704,282 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $47,152,000 after acquiring an additional 249,100 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Atlanticus by 1,761.6% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after acquiring an additional 112,407 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Atlanticus by 133.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 93,234 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,105,000 after purchasing an additional 53,312 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Atlanticus by 333.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 37,582 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 28,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atlanticus in the 1st quarter worth $1,083,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Company Profile

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation is a specialty financial services holding company that provides credit products and solutions to consumers across the United States. Through its subsidiaries, the company offers proprietary credit card programs, installment loan products and deposit accounts designed to serve customers who may have limited access to traditional credit. Atlanticus markets its offerings through a variety of channels, including direct‐to‐consumer online platforms, mail order, call centers and partnerships with retail and e-commerce businesses.

The company underwrites and services credit card portfolios under private-label and co-branded agreements, combining technology‐enabled underwriting with tailored customer service.