ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.62 and last traded at $24.51, with a volume of 284840 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ProAssurance in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised ProAssurance to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of ProAssurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $25.00.

ProAssurance Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65 and a beta of 0.09.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.13). ProAssurance had a return on equity of 4.78% and a net margin of 3.01%.The firm had revenue of $279.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that ProAssurance Corporation will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProAssurance

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 186.1% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,491,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,041,000 after acquiring an additional 969,833 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in ProAssurance by 1,310.1% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 939,428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,433,000 after purchasing an additional 872,808 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 41.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,711,805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,056,000 after purchasing an additional 796,132 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of ProAssurance during the third quarter worth about $17,058,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of ProAssurance by 27.6% in the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,956,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,504,000 after buying an additional 638,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.