ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• The consensus broker rating is Hold (six analysts), composed of one sell, four holds and one strong-buy, with an average 1-year price target of $25.00.
• ProAssurance reported a notable quarter — $0.82 EPS vs. $0.22 expected and $269.6M revenue beating estimates — although revenue was down 7.1% year-over-year and analysts forecast about 0.8 EPS for the fiscal year.
• The stock is trading near its 1-year high (range $22.72–$24.77) with a market cap of $1.26B and a PE of 25.1, and it has high institutional ownership at 85.58%.

Shares of ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ProAssurance from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of ProAssurance from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of ProAssurance in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

ProAssurance Stock Performance

NYSE PRA opened at $24.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. ProAssurance has a 1-year low of $22.72 and a 1-year high of $24.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10 and a beta of 0.04.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.60. ProAssurance had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 4.64%.The business had revenue of $269.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $261.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that ProAssurance will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProAssurance

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in ProAssurance by 356.2% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,405 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 12,152.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,818 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of ProAssurance by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of ProAssurance by 271.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,576 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in ProAssurance by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,679 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ProAssurance

ProAssurance Corporation is a specialty property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The company focuses primarily on professional liability coverage for healthcare providers, including physicians, surgeons, dentists and allied health professionals. ProAssurance operates through a group of insurance subsidiaries that underwrite both occurrence- and claims-made policies tailored to the unique risks faced by the medical community.

In addition to professional liability insurance, ProAssurance offers a suite of complementary property and casualty products, such as general liability, workers' compensation, property and inland marine, and umbrella coverage.

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