PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $20.42, but opened at $16.03. PRA Group shares last traded at $14.3360, with a volume of 140,084 shares.

The business services provider reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $286.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.40 million. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 19.91% and a positive return on equity of 15.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 1st. Zacks Research downgraded PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded PRA Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PRA Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in PRA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PRA Group by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in PRA Group by 7,735.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 8,896 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in PRA Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $192,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

PRA Group Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $535.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.12 and a beta of 1.15.

PRA Group Company Profile

PRA Group, Inc is a global financial services company that purchases and manages portfolios of defaulted consumer accounts. The company works with individuals to help resolve outstanding obligations and provides account management, customer service and debt recovery solutions for acquired portfolios.

The company serves consumers and financial institutions across North America, Europe and Australia. Its activities include acquiring nonperforming consumer debt from banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions, as well as servicing portfolios on behalf of third parties in selected markets.

PRA Group was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.