PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Short Interest Update

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 919,937 shares, a decrease of 21.3% from the March 31st total of 1,168,841 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 251,660 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRAA. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PRA Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in PRA Group by 145.6% in 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 last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 146.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 140.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 375.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRAA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citizens Jmp downgraded PRA Group from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered PRA Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of PRAA opened at $22.23 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.18. The company has a market cap of $854.74 million, a P/E ratio of -2.85 and a beta of 1.26. PRA Group has a twelve month low of $10.25 and a twelve month high of $22.55.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last released 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 firm had revenue of $333.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.86 million. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 25.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.50%. Analysts predict that PRA Group will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.