PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Trading 6.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) shares rose 6.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $20.68 and last traded at $20.88. Approximately 76,903 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 544,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PRAA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research upgraded PRA Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PRA Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

PRA Group Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $770.99 million, a PE ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.11.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.99. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 19.91% and a positive return on equity of 15.56%. The company had revenue of $372.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.99 million. Analysts forecast that PRA Group, Inc. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of PRA Group by 401.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 601,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,421,000 after buying an additional 481,538 shares during the period. OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in PRA Group in the first quarter worth approximately $483,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in PRA Group during the first quarter worth $731,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in PRA Group by 87.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 346,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,128,000 after purchasing an additional 161,407 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 427,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,560,000 after purchasing an additional 11,895 shares during the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.