32,564 Shares in Atlanticus Holdings Corporation $ATLC Purchased by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has made a significant investment of approximately $1.67 million in Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, acquiring 32,564 shares during the first quarter.
• Atlanticus recently announced a $0.4766 quarterly dividend to shareholders, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.91 and a yield of 2.8%.
• Research analysts have upgraded Atlanticus, with Wall Street Zen raising its rating from "buy" to "strong-buy" and JMP Securities increasing their price target from $75.00 to $78.00.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 32,564 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,666,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Atlanticus as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Atlanticus by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,413 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Atlanticus by 229.4% during the fourth 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 lifted its stake in Atlanticus by 19.3% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,152 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atlanticus by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,751 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Atlanticus in the 1st quarter worth about $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.15% of the company's stock.

Atlanticus Trading Up 6.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ATLC traded up $4.22 on Friday, reaching $72.17. 83,875 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,291. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $58.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.04. Atlanticus Holdings Corporation has a 52 week low of $30.82 and a 52 week high of $75.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.21. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 8.51%.The firm had revenue of $393.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $373.87 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Corporation will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlanticus Dividend Announcement

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 2.6%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATLC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Atlanticus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $69.20.

Insider Activity

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

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.