PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Separately, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of PRA Group in a report on Tuesday.

PRA Group Trading Up 4.5 %

PRAA stock opened at $26.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.61. PRA Group has a 12 month low of $11.85 and a 12 month high of $31.43. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.42 and a beta of 1.47.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $255.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 64.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.50) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PRA Group will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Vikram A. Atal sold 5,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.39, for a total value of $142,193.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,693.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PRA Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 3,462.8% in the third 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 grew 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 worth $74,613,000 after acquiring an additional 425,505 shares in the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 237,800 shares during the period. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PRA Group by 192.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of PRA Group by 42.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 450,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,648,000 after acquiring an additional 133,774 shares in the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PRA Group Company Profile

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.