PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• PRA Group hit a new 52-week high Tuesday, trading as high as $19.88 (last at $19.9050) on about 72,779 shares, up roughly 1.2% from the prior close.
• The company posted a strong quarter on Feb. 26 with EPS $1.46 vs. $0.50 est. and revenue $333.4M vs. $288.9M, despite a negative net margin of -25.39%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—average rating "Hold" (1 Buy, 3 Hold, 1 Sell) with a $25 average price target—while institutional ownership is very high at 97.22% and several funds have recently increased positions.

Shares of PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $19.88 and last traded at $19.9050, with a volume of 72779 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PRAA. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citizens Jmp downgraded PRA Group from a "market outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research downgraded PRA Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded PRA Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PRA Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Up 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $763.81 million, a P/E ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.62.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PRA Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Topline Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PRA Group by 16.2% during the third quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,615,711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,387,000 after buying an additional 365,082 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in PRA Group by 437.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 93,999 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 76,505 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in PRA Group during the third quarter worth approximately $461,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its stake in PRA Group by 14.6% during the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 415,481 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,415,000 after acquiring an additional 53,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in PRA Group by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15,650 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 2,099 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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