Jane Street Group LLC Makes New Investment in Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,936 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Atlanticus by 393.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atlanticus by 158.8% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Atlanticus by 5.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Price Performance

ATLC opened at $55.98 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.09 million, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 2.05. Atlanticus Holdings Co. has a 52 week low of $23.09 and a 52 week high of $64.70.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. Atlanticus had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 25.14%. The business had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Atlanticus

In related news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $55,909.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,291. This represents a 16.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mitchell Saunders sold 16,004 shares of Atlanticus stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total value of $889,022.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,973 shares in the company, valued at $2,831,550.15. This represents a 23.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,504 shares of company stock worth $962,522 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 51.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research increased their price objective 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 raised their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $54.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atlanticus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

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.