Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 137,397 Shares of PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Free Report) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,018,884 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 137,397 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 2.58% of PRA Group worth $21,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRAA. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 805.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 154.2% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 2,029 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of PRA Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 231.3% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of PRA Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $155,000. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered PRA Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JMP Securities lowered their price target on shares of PRA Group from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity

In other PRA Group news, Director Brett Lee Paschke acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.39 per share, with a total value of $66,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,449.84. The trade was a 19.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

PRA Group Price Performance

PRAA stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.13. 35,064 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 290,083. The stock has a market cap of $560.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 1.70. PRA Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.91 and a 1 year high of $27.54. The firm's 50 day moving average is $16.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.82.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The business services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.32). PRA Group had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 5.16%. The business had revenue of $269.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $288.63 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PRA Group Profile

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.