ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $24.69 and last traded at $24.6150, with a volume of 128492 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ProAssurance in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ProAssurance to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of ProAssurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ProAssurance has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

ProAssurance Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.06. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.60. ProAssurance had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $269.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ProAssurance Corporation will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ProAssurance

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Associates Management Inc. boosted its position in ProAssurance by 73.6% in the third quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 952,547 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,852,000 after purchasing an additional 403,807 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 52,012 shares during the last quarter. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P bought a new stake in ProAssurance during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,007,000. Olympiad Research LP raised its position in ProAssurance by 79.1% in the second quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 85,874 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,961,000 after acquiring an additional 37,936 shares during the period. Finally, Mint Tower Capital Management B.V. raised its position in ProAssurance by 1,750.0% in the second quarter. Mint Tower Capital Management B.V. now owns 37,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.