Short Interest in PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Declines By 19.6%

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 717,337 shares, a drop of 19.6% from the December 15th total of 892,160 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 453,823 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 453,823 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

PRA Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PRAA traded down $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.85. The stock had a trading volume of 118,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,159. PRA Group has a 12 month low of $12.29 and a 12 month high of $23.97. The company has a market capitalization of $618.27 million, a PE ratio of -1.80 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.01.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that PRA Group will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRAA. Zacks Research downgraded PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of PRA Group from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PRA Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PRA Group news, Director Geir Olsen acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.15 per share, with a total value of $212,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 58,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,901.95. This trade represents a 34.14% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PRA Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRAA. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in PRA Group by 8.1% during the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 23,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS purchased a new stake in shares of PRA Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 2,650.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 43,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 42,119 shares in the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA boosted its holdings in PRA Group by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 551,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,135,000 after buying an additional 198,152 shares during the period. Finally, Advent Capital Management DE purchased a new position in PRA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

About PRA Group

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.