Zacks Research Downgrades PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) to Hold

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on PRA Group from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ PRAA opened at $16.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $659.07 million, a PE ratio of -1.92 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.91. PRA Group has a 52-week low of $12.29 and a 52-week high of $23.97.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $247.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.77 million. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 7.03% and a negative net margin of 29.55%. On average, analysts forecast that PRA Group will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PRA Group news, Director Geir Olsen bought 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.15 per share, with a total value of $212,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 58,933 shares in the company, valued at $833,901.95. The trade was a 34.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRAA. Topline Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PRA Group by 168.3% in the second quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,250,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411,707 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in PRA Group by 130.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 428,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,315,000 after purchasing an additional 242,721 shares in the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA grew its position in shares of PRA Group by 56.1% during the second quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 551,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,135,000 after buying an additional 198,152 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of PRA Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,140,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,606,000 after buying an additional 138,256 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of PRA Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,883,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

PRA Group Company Profile

PRA Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company focused on the acquisition and management of nonperforming loans. Founded in 1996 as Portfolio Recovery Associates, the company purchases defaulted consumer and commercial receivables at discounted rates from financial institutions, utilities and other creditors. By combining rigorous analytics with a consumer-centric ethos, PRA Group seeks to maximize recoveries while maintaining respectful and compliant interactions with debtors.

The company’s core activities include first-party and third-party collections across a range of asset classes such as credit cards, auto loans and utility receivables.