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

Key Points

• Short interest fell 21.3% to 919,937 shares as of April 15, about 2.4% of the float, with a short-interest ratio of 3.7 days based on average daily volume.
• Analysts show mixed sentiment with a consensus "Hold" rating and a $25.00 average price target (1 Buy, 3 Holds, 1 Sell).
• PRAA beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.46 vs. $0.50 expected), trades near $22.06 with a market cap of ~$848M, but has a negative PE (-2.83) and roughly 97.22% institutional ownership.

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 919,937 shares, a decline of 21.3% from the March 31st total of 1,168,841 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 251,660 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut PRA Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research cut PRA Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PRA Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut PRA Group from a "market outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PRAA traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.06. 144,033 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,093. PRA Group has a fifty-two week low of $10.25 and a fifty-two week high of $22.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.15. The firm has a market cap of $848.17 million, a PE ratio of -2.83 and a beta of 1.14.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.96. The company had revenue of $333.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $288.86 million. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 10.50% and a negative net margin of 25.39%. As a group, analysts forecast that PRA Group will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PRA Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in PRA Group by 140.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in PRA Group by 375.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,784 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company's stock.

About PRA Group

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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