ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.62 and last traded at $24.51, with a volume of 284840 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PRA shares. Zacks Research downgraded ProAssurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen raised ProAssurance to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ProAssurance in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ProAssurance presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.00.

ProAssurance Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63 and a beta of 0.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.13). ProAssurance had a return on equity of 4.78% and a net margin of 3.01%.The firm had revenue of $279.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.71 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that ProAssurance Corporation will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ProAssurance

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRA. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in ProAssurance by 186.1% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,491,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,041,000 after acquiring an additional 969,833 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 1,310.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 939,428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,433,000 after purchasing an additional 872,808 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of ProAssurance by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,711,805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,056,000 after purchasing an additional 796,132 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in ProAssurance during the 3rd quarter valued at $17,058,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in ProAssurance by 27.6% in the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,956,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,504,000 after buying an additional 638,992 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ProAssurance Company Profile

ProAssurance Corporation is a specialty property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The company focuses primarily on professional liability coverage for healthcare providers, including physicians, surgeons, dentists and allied health professionals. ProAssurance operates through a group of insurance subsidiaries that underwrite both occurrence- and claims-made policies tailored to the unique risks faced by the medical community.

In addition to professional liability insurance, ProAssurance offers a suite of complementary property and casualty products, such as general liability, workers’ compensation, property and inland marine, and umbrella coverage.