Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Holdings in PRA Group, Inc. $PRAA

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) by 51.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 102,950 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.25% of PRA Group worth $2,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PRAA. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in PRA Group in the first quarter worth $5,413,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in PRA Group by 85.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 405,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,363,000 after purchasing an additional 186,724 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in PRA Group by 59.6% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 416,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,705,000 after purchasing an additional 155,608 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in PRA Group in the first quarter worth $3,000,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in PRA Group by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,018,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,284,000 after purchasing an additional 137,397 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

PRA Group Trading Down 0.6%

PRAA opened at $17.24 on Tuesday. PRA Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.91 and a 12-month high of $25.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.22. The company has a market capitalization of $673.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 1.54.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The business services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.46. PRA Group had a return on equity of 6.52% and a net margin of 8.10%.The business had revenue of $287.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.34 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PRAA shares. JMP Securities set a $24.00 target price on PRA Group and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised PRA Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

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.