Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in PRA Group, Inc. $PRAA

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,962,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 138,216 shares during the period. PRA Group comprises 2.1% of Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of PRA Group worth $34,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in PRA Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in PRA Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in PRA Group by 28.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 3,229 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of PRA Group by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 217,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 80,945 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of PRA Group by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 819,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,091,000 after purchasing an additional 109,857 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several 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 report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PRAA opened at $16.01 on Friday. PRA Group, Inc. has a one year low of $10.25 and a one year high of $22.55. The firm has a market cap of $610.62 million, a P/E ratio of -2.24 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.47.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $314.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.90 million. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 22.51% and a positive return on equity of 13.19%. On average, research analysts predict that PRA Group, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PRA Group Profile

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.