PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Share Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• PRA Group shares rose above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $20.26 versus a 50-day average of $19.63. The stock’s 200-day moving average is $17.52.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on PRA Group, with one Buy, three Hold and one Sell recommendation; the average price target is $26.00.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting $1.51 in earnings per share versus a $0.52 estimate and revenue of $372.17 million versus a $299.99 million consensus.

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.63 and traded as high as $20.26. PRA Group shares last traded at $20.04, with a volume of 510,282 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PRAA. Zacks Research cut shares of PRA Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PRA Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PRA Group from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

PRA Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.52. The company has a market capitalization of $754.51 million, a PE ratio of -2.98 and a beta of 1.13.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $372.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.99 million. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 15.56% and a negative net margin of 19.91%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PRA Group, Inc. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in PRA Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $326,000. Blueprint Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PRA Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $326,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PRA Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of PRA Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 1,828.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 14,906 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 14,133 shares during the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PRA Group

PRA Group, Inc is a global financial services company that purchases and manages portfolios of defaulted consumer accounts. The company works with individuals to help resolve outstanding obligations and provides account management, customer service and debt recovery solutions for acquired portfolios.

The company serves consumers and financial institutions across North America, Europe and Australia. Its activities include acquiring nonperforming consumer debt from banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions, as well as servicing portfolios on behalf of third parties in selected markets.

PRA Group was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.

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