PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Stock Price Down 5.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• PRA Group stock fell 5.7% to about $17.28 on Wednesday on light trading (~93,743 shares), down from a prior close of $18.32.
• Several analysts have downgraded PRAA recently (Zacks, Citigroup, Citizens Jmp), leaving a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.00.
• The company posted a quarterly beat (EPS $1.46 vs. $0.50; revenue $333.4M vs. $288.9M) but still reports a negative net margin (−25.39%) and a negative P/E, signaling mixed fundamentals despite the beat.

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) dropped 5.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $17.40 and last traded at $17.2750. Approximately 93,743 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 557,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRAA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered PRA Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup downgraded PRA Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut shares of PRA Group from a "market outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $658.26 million, a P/E ratio of -2.19 and a beta of 1.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.96. The business had revenue of $333.39 million during 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 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRAA. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new stake in shares of PRA Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $150,000. Advent Capital Management DE bought a new stake in shares of PRA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $84,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of PRA Group by 437.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 93,999 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 76,505 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 960,839 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,175,000 after acquiring an additional 14,197 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in PRA Group during the third quarter worth $461,000. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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