PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded PRA Group from “hold” to “buy”, even though the broader analyst view remains cautious with an average Hold rating and a $25 price target.
• PRA Group beat first-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, posting EPS of $0.73 versus $0.51 expected and revenue of $314.53 million versus $295.90 million expected.
• The stock was down 8.1% despite the earnings beat, as investors still weighed factors like a negative net margin and mixed analyst sentiment.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of PRA Group from a "market outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PRA Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of PRA Group from an "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 issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Down 8.1%

Shares of PRAA stock opened at $19.18 on Friday. PRA Group has a 12-month low of $10.25 and a 12-month high of $22.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $731.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.68 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.62 and a 200-day moving average of $16.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.22. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 22.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $314.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.90 million. Research analysts expect that PRA Group will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PRA Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Topline Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PRA Group by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,615,711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,387,000 after purchasing an additional 365,082 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in PRA Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,499,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,526,000 after purchasing an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,296,830 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,941,000 after buying an additional 156,520 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 819,742 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,091,000 after buying an additional 109,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 752,064 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,304,000 after buying an additional 95,179 shares during the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting PRA Group

Here are the key news stories impacting PRA Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PRA Group beat Q1 2026 earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $0.73 versus the $0.51 consensus and revenue of $314.53 million versus $295.90 million expected. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Cash collections rose 11% in the quarter, supported by stronger U.S. legal channel momentum and solid performance in Europe, which helped lift results and reinforced progress on the company’s PRA 3.0 strategy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Net income improved to $28 million, signaling better operating leverage and a meaningful step up from the prior year period. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s earnings call and presentation may provide more detail on collection trends, capital allocation, and the outlook for the rest of 2026, which investors are likely watching closely. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the earnings beat, PRA Group still reported a negative net margin, which may be limiting investor enthusiasm and contributing to the stock’s decline. Article Title

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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