PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Shares Up 7.9% – Still a Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PRAA. Citigroup downgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut PRA Group from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PRA Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Trading Down 3.8%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.44. The company has a market capitalization of $697.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.33 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.96. The business had revenue of $333.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.86 million. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 10.50% and a negative net margin of 25.39%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRAA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in PRA Group by 301.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PRA Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in PRA Group by 145.6% during 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 during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 146.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 140.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About PRA Group

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.