PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $21.74 and last traded at $21.8020, with a volume of 22961 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PRAA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Citizens Jmp lowered PRA Group from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut PRA Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Trading Up 1.4%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.57 and a 200-day moving average of $16.10. The stock has a market cap of $855.09 million, a PE ratio of -2.83 and a beta of 1.14.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $333.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.86 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Topline Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 168.3% during the 2nd quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,250,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,707 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 242.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 464,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,214,000 after buying an additional 328,804 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in PRA Group by 256.7% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 397,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,027,000 after acquiring an additional 285,858 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in PRA Group by 130.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 428,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,315,000 after acquiring an additional 242,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in PRA Group by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 346,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,128,000 after acquiring an additional 161,407 shares during the period. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.