PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Separately, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of PRA Group in a report on Tuesday.

PRA Group Stock Up 4.5 %

NASDAQ:PRAA opened at $26.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.61. PRA Group has a 52-week low of $11.85 and a 52-week high of $31.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.42 and a beta of 1.47.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.24. The company had revenue of $255.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.37 million. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 10.40% and a negative return on equity of 6.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 64.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.50) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PRA Group will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Vikram A. Atal sold 5,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.39, for a total value of $142,193.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 155,625 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,693.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of PRA Group by 3,462.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 963,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,509,000 after buying an additional 936,477 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 12.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,884,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,613,000 after acquiring an additional 425,505 shares in the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. boosted its position in PRA Group by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 1,621,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,476,000 after purchasing an additional 237,800 shares during the last quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC boosted its position in PRA Group by 192.2% during the fourth quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 293,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,692,000 after purchasing an additional 193,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in PRA Group by 42.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 450,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,648,000 after purchasing an additional 133,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

About PRA Group

PRA Group, Inc, a financial and business services company, engages in the purchase, collection, and management of portfolios of nonperforming loans worldwide. It is involved in the purchase of accounts that are primarily the unpaid obligations of individuals owed to credit originators, which include banks and other types of consumer, retail, and auto finance companies.