D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Takes $548,000 Position in Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,816 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $548,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.07% of Atlanticus as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Atlanticus by 229.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 728 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $119,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Atlanticus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,000. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atlanticus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $62.60.

Atlanticus Stock Performance

NASDAQ ATLC traded down $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $49.22. 9,486 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,063. The stock has a market capitalization of $744.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.85. Atlanticus Holdings Co. has a 12-month low of $25.14 and a 12-month high of $64.70. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $52.08 and a 200-day moving average of $54.38.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The credit services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.16. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $344.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.24 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Atlanticus

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.