PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 17.1% to 1,228,898 shares as of March 13, representing about 3.3% of shares sold short and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.7.
• PRA Group beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.46 (vs. $0.50 est.) and revenue of $333.4M (vs. $288.9M est.), but still reported a negative net margin of 25.39%; the consensus analyst rating is Hold with a $25 price target.
• The company has a market cap of about $648M, a 52-week range of $10.25–$22.01, and is heavily institutionally owned (approximately 97.22% held by hedge funds and other institutions).

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,228,898 shares, a decline of 17.1% from the February 26th total of 1,481,815 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 706,979 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on PRAA shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of PRA Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup downgraded shares of PRA Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut shares of PRA Group from a "market outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PRA Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Price Performance

PRAA stock opened at $16.85 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $14.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $647.88 million, a P/E ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 1.23. PRA Group has a 1 year low of $10.25 and a 1 year high of $22.01.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $333.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.86 million. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 25.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.50%. On average, analysts expect that PRA Group will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PRAA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in PRA Group by 301.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PRA Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 145.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PRA Group by 146.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of PRA Group by 140.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PRA Group Company Profile

PRA Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company focused on the acquisition and management of nonperforming loans. Founded in 1996 as Portfolio Recovery Associates, the company purchases defaulted consumer and commercial receivables at discounted rates from financial institutions, utilities and other creditors. By combining rigorous analytics with a consumer-centric ethos, PRA Group seeks to maximize recoveries while maintaining respectful and compliant interactions with debtors.

The company's core activities include first-party and third-party collections across a range of asset classes such as credit cards, auto loans and utility receivables.

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