AQR Arbitrage LLC Buys New Shares in ProAssurance Corporation $PRA

Key Points

• AQR Arbitrage LLC invested approximately $8.17 million in ProAssurance Corporation, acquiring 349,661 shares during the first quarter.
• ProAssurance stock has received several ratings updates, with Piper Sandler raising its price target from $18.00 to $25.00 and a general consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding expectations, although revenue fell by 19.9% year-over-year.

AQR Arbitrage LLC purchased a new stake in ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 349,661 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,165,000. AQR Arbitrage LLC owned about 0.68% of ProAssurance as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ProAssurance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,007 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in ProAssurance by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 37,759 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 15,015 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in ProAssurance by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 49,155 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in ProAssurance by 148.6% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 6,214 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 3,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PRA. Wall Street Zen began coverage on ProAssurance in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded ProAssurance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ProAssurance presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $21.50.

ProAssurance Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of PRA traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.77. 380,452 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,809. ProAssurance Corporation has a 52-week low of $12.43 and a 52-week high of $24.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $271.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.72 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that ProAssurance Corporation will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About ProAssurance

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.