PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $25.33, but opened at $28.00. PRA Group shares last traded at $25.67, with a volume of 48,674 shares traded.

The business services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.24. The company had revenue of $255.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.37 million. PRA Group had a negative return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 10.40%. The business’s revenue was up 64.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.50) EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRAA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of PRA Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Vikram A. Atal sold 5,830 shares of PRA Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.39, for a total value of $142,193.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 155,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,795,693.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in PRA Group by 3,462.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 963,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,509,000 after purchasing an additional 936,477 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 12.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,884,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,613,000 after buying an additional 425,505 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in PRA Group by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 1,621,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,476,000 after buying an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PRA Group by 192.2% during the fourth quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 293,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,692,000 after acquiring an additional 193,117 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 450,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,648,000 after acquiring an additional 133,774 shares during the period. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PRA Group Trading Down 1.1 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.56. The company has a market cap of $985.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.76 and a beta of 1.47.

About PRA Group

PRA Group, Inc, a financial and business services company, engages in the purchase, collection, and management of portfolios of nonperforming loans worldwide. It is involved in the purchase of accounts that are primarily the unpaid obligations of individuals owed to credit originators, which include banks and other types of consumer, retail, and auto finance companies.