PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Shares Down 19.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares plunged 19.3% intraday to $16.85 from a $20.88 close on Friday, trading about 120,612 shares — roughly 74% below the stock's average daily volume.
• The company beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.73 vs. $0.51; revenue $314.5M vs. $295.9M) but still reports a negative net margin and has a market cap near $680M.
• Analysts have grown cautious with several downgrades and a consensus "Hold" rating and $25 price target, while institutional ownership remains very high at about 97%.

Shares of PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) dropped 19.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $18.04 and last traded at $16.8510. Approximately 120,612 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 463,600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRAA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup cut shares of PRA Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Down 14.6%

The company has a market cap of $680.27 million, a PE ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day moving average is $16.38.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.22. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 25.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.50%. The business had revenue of $314.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $295.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Topline Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PRA Group by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,615,711 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,387,000 after purchasing an additional 365,082 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in PRA Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,499,488 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,526,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in PRA Group by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,296,830 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,941,000 after acquiring an additional 156,520 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in PRA Group by 15.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 819,742 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,091,000 after acquiring an additional 109,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in PRA Group by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 752,064 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,304,000 after acquiring an additional 95,179 shares in the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.