ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded ProAssurance from hold to sell, adding a bearish note to the insurer’s latest analyst coverage.
• Despite the downgrade, the stock still carries a consensus Buy rating from MarketBeat, and Zacks Research recently upgraded it to strong-buy.
• ProAssurance reported quarterly EPS of $0.25, matching expectations, while revenue came in at $262.63 million versus the forecast of $216.86 million; institutional ownership remains high at 85.58%.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on PRA. Zacks Research upgraded ProAssurance from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of ProAssurance in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

ProAssurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRA opened at $24.68 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $24.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.30. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.04. ProAssurance has a 12-month low of $22.72 and a 12-month high of $24.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. ProAssurance had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 5.99%.The business had revenue of $262.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. ProAssurance's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that ProAssurance will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProAssurance

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its position in ProAssurance by 1,050.0% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 575,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,794,000 after acquiring an additional 525,000 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. lifted its stake in ProAssurance by 73.6% in the third quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 952,547 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $22,852,000 after acquiring an additional 403,807 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in ProAssurance by 158.7% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 84,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 52,012 shares in the last quarter. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P bought a new stake in ProAssurance in the third quarter worth approximately $7,007,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 157,891 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,788,000 after purchasing an additional 58,382 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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