Short Interest in PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Drops By 42.7%

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) saw a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 868,056 shares, a decline of 42.7% from the June 15th total of 1,515,485 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,422,498 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PRAA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 7th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PRA Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PRA Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PRA Group by 145.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PRA Group by 146.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of PRA Group by 375.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new stake in shares of PRA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $102,000. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PRA Group Trading Up 2.1%

PRAA traded up $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $18.41. 324,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 564,503. PRA Group has a twelve month low of $10.25 and a twelve month high of $22.55. The company has a market cap of $702.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.57 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.55.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $314.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.90 million. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 13.19% and a negative net margin of 22.51%. Equities analysts expect that PRA Group will post 2.52 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.