ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded ProAssurance (NYSE: PRA) from a "hold" to a "sell," while the MarketBeat consensus rating remains "Hold" with a consensus target price of $25.00.
• The company reported $0.82 EPS versus $0.22 expected and revenue of $269.6M versus $261.1M, but revenue was down 7.1% year‑over‑year and analysts forecast about 0.8 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Shares trade around $24.61 (12‑month range $22.72–$24.85) with a market cap of ~$1.27B, and roughly 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PRA. Zacks Research raised ProAssurance from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of ProAssurance in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.00.

ProAssurance Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of ProAssurance stock opened at $24.61 on Friday. ProAssurance has a twelve month low of $22.72 and a twelve 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 0.02.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProAssurance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 186.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,491,060 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $34,041,000 after purchasing an additional 969,833 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in ProAssurance by 360.0% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,039,901 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,124,000 after buying an additional 813,814 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in ProAssurance by 41.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,711,805 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $65,056,000 after buying an additional 796,132 shares during the period. Man Group plc purchased a new position in ProAssurance during the third quarter worth $17,058,000. Finally, LMR Partners LLP increased its position in ProAssurance by 287.2% during the second quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 806,471 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,412,000 after acquiring an additional 598,169 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ProAssurance Company Profile

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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