Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 29,679 Shares of Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC - Free Report) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,416 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 29,679 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.32% of Atlanticus worth $2,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATLC. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Atlanticus by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 125,558 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Atlanticus by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,501 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Atlanticus by 159.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 122,225 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,818,000 after acquiring an additional 75,068 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Atlanticus by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 93,431 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Atlanticus in the 4th quarter valued at $3,828,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATLC. B. Riley upgraded Atlanticus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $52.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Atlanticus in a report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $61.00.

Atlanticus Price Performance

ATLC traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.30. The stock had a trading volume of 38,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,170. 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 $51.75 and a 200-day moving average of $51.27. Atlanticus Holdings Co. has a one year low of $23.10 and a one year high of $64.70. The stock has a market cap of $790.41 million, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 2.16.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The credit services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.19. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. The company had revenue of $353.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $355.02 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.49 EPS 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.