ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PRA. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ProAssurance to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ProAssurance in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ProAssurance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

ProAssurance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRA opened at $24.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07 and a beta of 0.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.07. ProAssurance has a one year low of $14.49 and a one year high of $24.69.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.60. ProAssurance had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 6.50%. The company had revenue of $269.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $261.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. ProAssurance’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that ProAssurance will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProAssurance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 356.2% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,405 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 12,152.2% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,818 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in ProAssurance by 35.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in ProAssurance by 271.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,576 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,074 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in ProAssurance by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,679 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

ProAssurance Company Profile

ProAssurance Corporation is a specialty property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The company focuses primarily on professional liability coverage for healthcare providers, including physicians, surgeons, dentists and allied health professionals. ProAssurance operates through a group of insurance subsidiaries that underwrite both occurrence- and claims-made policies tailored to the unique risks faced by the medical community.

In addition to professional liability insurance, ProAssurance offers a suite of complementary property and casualty products, such as general liability, workers’ compensation, property and inland marine, and umbrella coverage.