Alliancebernstein L.P. Grows Position in ProAssurance Corporation $PRA

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has significantly increased its stake in ProAssurance Corporation by 2,035.6%, now owning approximately 1.5 million shares valued at $35.4 million.
• During the last quarter, several hedge funds, including CWM LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, made substantial investments in ProAssurance, which is now predominantly owned by institutional investors.
• ProAssurance reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52 for the quarter, surpassing estimates, but saw a 19.9% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA - Free Report) by 2,035.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,516,479 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 1,445,469 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 2.96% of ProAssurance worth $35,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of ProAssurance in the first quarter worth approximately $54,121,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 2,655.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 645,358 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,268,000 after acquiring an additional 621,935 shares during the period. TIG Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ProAssurance in the first quarter worth approximately $15,039,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 559,694 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,905,000 after acquiring an additional 16,983 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 14.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 446,311 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,421,000 after acquiring an additional 54,702 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ProAssurance Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:PRA traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.80. 233,484 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 414,423. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $23.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.57. ProAssurance Corporation has a one year low of $12.86 and a one year high of $24.14. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31 and a beta of 0.12.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.33. ProAssurance had a return on equity of 5.62% and a net margin of 4.33%.The firm had revenue of $271.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The business's revenue was down 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that ProAssurance Corporation will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PRA. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on ProAssurance in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of ProAssurance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ProAssurance currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $21.50.

ProAssurance 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.