Trexquant Investment LP Takes Position in PRA Group, Inc. $PRAA

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in PRA Group, purchasing 56,892 shares valued at approximately $1,173,000, bringing its ownership to 0.14% as per the latest SEC filing.
• PRA Group reported earnings per share of $1.08 for the recent quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.62, and achieved revenue of $287.69 million against an expectation of $279.34 million.
• Analysts have given PRA Group a favorable outlook, with a current average price target of $27.50 and several ratings upgraded to "buy" or "outperform" within recent reports.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 56,892 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.14% of PRA Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,322,609 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,132,000 after purchasing an additional 21,934 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in PRA Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,881,917 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $80,045,000 after buying an additional 120,965 shares during the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its holdings in PRA Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,018,200 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,615,000 after buying an additional 122,200 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in PRA Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,883,567 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,840,000 after buying an additional 21,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in PRA Group by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,018,884 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,284,000 after buying an additional 137,397 shares during the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PRA Group Stock Down 2.9%

PRA Group stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.82. 182,677 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,905. PRA Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.91 and a 12 month high of $25.43. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $16.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $657.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.50.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.46. PRA Group had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $287.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $279.34 million. As a group, analysts forecast that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PRAA shares. JMP Securities set a $24.00 price objective on shares of PRA Group and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PRA Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $27.50.

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.