PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Trading Up 7.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) traded up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.45 and last traded at $18.39. 422,766 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 542,046 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered PRA Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of PRA Group from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Up 8.8%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.40. The company has a market capitalization of $713.25 million, a PE ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 1.23.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.96. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 25.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.50%. The business had revenue of $333.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.86 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRAA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of PRA Group by 301.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PRA Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PRA Group by 145.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 146.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 140.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. 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.