PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 717,337 shares, a decline of 19.6% from the December 15th total of 892,160 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 453,823 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 453,823 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRAA has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on PRA Group from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Geir Olsen purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.15 per share, with a total value of $212,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 58,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,901.95. This represents a 34.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRAA. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in PRA Group by 5.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of PRA Group by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of PRA Group by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of PRA Group by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in PRA Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

PRA Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PRAA traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $16.64. 236,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 312,052. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.01. PRA Group has a 52-week low of $12.29 and a 52-week high of $23.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $649.13 million, a PE ratio of -1.89 and a beta of 1.33.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $247.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.77 million. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 29.55% and a positive return on equity of 7.03%. As a group, research analysts predict that PRA Group will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

PRA Group Company Profile

PRA Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company focused on the acquisition and management of nonperforming loans. Founded in 1996 as Portfolio Recovery Associates, the company purchases defaulted consumer and commercial receivables at discounted rates from financial institutions, utilities and other creditors. By combining rigorous analytics with a consumer-centric ethos, PRA Group seeks to maximize recoveries while maintaining respectful and compliant interactions with debtors.

The company’s core activities include first-party and third-party collections across a range of asset classes such as credit cards, auto loans and utility receivables.