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

ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.29 and last traded at $23.05, with a volume of 17275803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded ProAssurance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

ProAssurance Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $287.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.56 million. ProAssurance had a return on equity of 2.65% and a net margin of 3.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ProAssurance Co. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProAssurance

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRA. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 402.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 68,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 54,806 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 197.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,063 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 8,012 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 30.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,978 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,149 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 164.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 36,589 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 22,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 94.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 4,052 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

ProAssurance Company Profile

ProAssurance Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance, and reinsurance products in the United States. The company operates through Specialty Property and Casualty, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, and Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segments. It offers professional liability insurance to healthcare providers and institutions, and attorneys and their firms; medical technology liability insurance to medical technology and life sciences companies; and custom alternative risk solutions, including assumed reinsurance, loss portfolio transfers, and captive cell programs for healthcare professional liability insureds.