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

Key Points

• Short interest in PRA Group plunged 42.7% in June, falling to 868,056 shares as of June 30 from 1.52 million shares two weeks earlier. That leaves about 2.3% of the company’s shares sold short.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00. Recent notes included a downgrade from Wall Street Zen and a reiterated sell rating from Weiss Ratings.
• The stock rose 2.1% to $18.41 and PRA Group recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.73 EPS versus the $0.51 estimate on revenue of $314.53 million. Institutional investors continue to hold a large majority of the shares, at 97.22% ownership.

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 868,056 shares, a decrease of 42.7% from the June 15th total of 1,515,485 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,422,498 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PRAA. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PRA Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ PRAA traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.41. The company had a trading volume of 324,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,503. The stock has a market capitalization of $702.18 million, a P/E ratio of -2.57 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.43 and a 200 day moving average of $16.55. PRA Group has a 1-year low of $10.25 and a 1-year high of $22.55.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $314.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $295.90 million. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 22.51% and a positive return on equity of 13.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PRA Group will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PRA Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PRA Group by 145.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PRA Group by 146.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 375.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,784 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 3,777 shares during the period. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of PRA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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