Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.12% of Atlanticus worth $596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 65.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,324 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Atlanticus by 9.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atlanticus news, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,831,550.15. This trade represents a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $78,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,036,339.25. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,204 shares of company stock valued at $1,080,197. Company insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ATLC shares. Stephens assumed coverage on Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Atlanticus Trading Up 1.6 %

Atlanticus stock opened at $55.16 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.28. Atlanticus Holdings Co. has a 52 week low of $23.09 and a 52 week high of $56.42. The stock has a market cap of $813.06 million, a PE ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.92. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $351.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. Equities research analysts predict that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atlanticus 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.