Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 26,888 Shares of PRA Group, Inc. $PRAA

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in PRA Group, Inc. by 27.4% in Q1, now owning 0.32% of the company valued at approximately $2.58 million.
• Research analysts have upgraded PRA Group's stock rating, with an average target price of $27.50 and a consensus rating of "Buy".
• PRA Group reported a strong quarterly earnings result, exceeding analysts' expectations with an EPS of $1.08 against a forecast of $0.62.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Free Report) by 27.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,083 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,888 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of PRA Group worth $2,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PRAA. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in PRA Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,657,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in PRA Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,413,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in PRA Group by 271.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 337,166 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,043,000 after purchasing an additional 246,282 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 valued at $8,363,000 after purchasing an additional 186,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised 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 valued at $8,705,000 after purchasing an additional 155,608 shares in the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

PRA Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:PRAA traded down $0.0650 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $17.2750. The company had a trading volume of 25,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,250. The company has a market capitalization of $674.93 million, a PE ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.27. PRA Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.91 and a 52 week high of $25.43.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The business services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $287.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $279.34 million. PRA Group had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 6.52%. Analysts anticipate that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.