PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Short Interest Update

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,228,898 shares, a decrease of 17.1% from the February 26th total of 1,481,815 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 706,979 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on PRAA shares. Citizens Jmp lowered PRA Group from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered shares of PRA Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

PRA Group Price Performance

NASDAQ PRAA opened at $16.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $647.88 million, a P/E ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 1.23. PRA Group has a 52-week low of $10.25 and a 52-week high of $22.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.49.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.96. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 10.50% and a negative net margin of 25.39%.The firm had revenue of $333.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.86 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that PRA Group will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRAA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in PRA Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in PRA Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 960,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,175,000 after acquiring an additional 14,197 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in PRA Group by 28.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 3,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in PRA Group by 59.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 217,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 80,945 shares during the period. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.