PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $20.42, but opened at $16.03. PRA Group shares last traded at $14.3360, with a volume of 140,084 shares changing hands.

The business services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.41). PRA Group had a negative net margin of 19.91% and a positive return on equity of 15.56%. The business had revenue of $286.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.40 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 1st. Zacks Research lowered PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded PRA Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PRA Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $84,183,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of PRA Group by 10.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 827,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,718,000 after acquiring an additional 77,188 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 401.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 601,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,421,000 after acquiring an additional 481,538 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 288.0% during the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 200,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 149,078 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 189,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606 shares during the period. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PRA Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $535.84 million, a P/E ratio of -2.12 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.68 and its 200 day moving average is $17.60.

PRA Group Company Profile

PRA Group, Inc is a global financial services company that purchases and manages portfolios of defaulted consumer accounts. The company works with individuals to help resolve outstanding obligations and provides account management, customer service and debt recovery solutions for acquired portfolios.

The company serves consumers and financial institutions across North America, Europe and Australia. Its activities include acquiring nonperforming consumer debt from banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions, as well as servicing portfolios on behalf of third parties in selected markets.

PRA Group was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.