PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Short Interest Up 37.4% in May

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 793,100 shares, an increase of 37.4% from the April 30th total of 577,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 466,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brett Lee Paschke acquired 5,000 shares of PRA Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.39 per share, with a total value of $66,950.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 30,056 shares in the company, valued at $402,449.84. This trade represents a 19.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of PRA Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $868,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in PRA Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $753,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in PRA Group by 55.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 117,053 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 41,525 shares during the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PRA Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 1,896,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,607,000 after purchasing an additional 78,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Management Corp VA bought a new stake in shares of PRA Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,659,000. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PRA Group Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:PRAA traded up $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $14.42. The stock had a trading volume of 140,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 295,515. PRA Group has a 52 week low of $12.91 and a 52 week high of $27.54. The business's fifty day moving average is $16.44 and its 200 day moving average is $19.57. The company has a market cap of $571.88 million, a PE ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 1.70.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The business services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.32). PRA Group had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 6.33%. The firm had revenue of $269.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $288.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PRA Group will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PRAA shares. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on PRA Group from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered PRA Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

PRA Group Company Profile

PRA Group, Inc, a financial and business services company, engages in the purchase, collection, and management of portfolios of nonperforming loans worldwide. It is involved in the purchase of accounts that are primarily the unpaid obligations of individuals owed to credit originators, which include banks and other types of consumer, retail, and auto finance companies.