PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PRA Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PRA Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

PRA Group Stock Performance

PRA Group stock opened at $19.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $716.10 million, a PE ratio of -2.83 and a beta of 1.11. PRA Group has a one year low of $10.25 and a one year high of $22.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.51 and a 200 day moving average of $17.50.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $372.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.99 million. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 15.56% and a negative net margin of 19.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PRA Group will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PRA Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PRA Group by 145.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PRA Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PRA Group by 146.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in PRA Group by 375.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

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.