Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Trading Down 6.2% – What’s Next?

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC)’s stock price dropped 6.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $48.74 and last traded at $50.67. Approximately 21,644 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 61,251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Atlanticus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. B. Riley raised their target price on Atlanticus from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $78.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.80.

Atlanticus Trading Down 5.7%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $770.03 million, a P/E ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The credit services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.14. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 24.20%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atlanticus Holdings Corporation will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Atlanticus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4766 per share. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.39, for a total value of $124,780.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $3,811,529.88. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 50.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanticus

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 198.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 365,278 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,684,000 after purchasing an additional 243,053 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Atlanticus by 6.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 305,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,912,000 after purchasing an additional 19,159 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 2.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 126,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,945,000 after buying an additional 2,812 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 25.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 120,071 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,000 after buying an additional 24,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 133.5% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 93,234 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,105,000 after buying an additional 53,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

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.