EntryPoint Capital LLC Takes Position in Atlanticus Holdings Corporation $ATLC

Key Points

• EntryPoint Capital LLC has made a new investment in Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, acquiring 5,968 shares valued at approximately $305,000 in the first quarter.
• Atlanticus Holdings has recently received positive attention from analysts, with JMP Securities increasing their price target from $75.00 to $78.00 and providing a "market outperform" rating.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4766 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.91 and a yield of 2.9% for investors of record on September 1st.

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,968 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,079 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,413 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Atlanticus by 229.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 728 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Atlanticus by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,152 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Atlanticus by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,751 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. 14.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Atlanticus from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlanticus

In other news, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.39, for a total transaction of $124,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 61,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,811,529.88. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 50.40% of the company's stock.

Atlanticus Price Performance

Shares of ATLC traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.95. 4,884 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 58,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.51 and a 200-day moving average of $53.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.93. Atlanticus Holdings Corporation has a one year low of $30.00 and a one year high of $67.60.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $393.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.87 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 8.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atlanticus Holdings Corporation will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlanticus Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.4766 per share. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%.

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.