PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $12.67, but opened at $15.28. PRA Group shares last traded at $15.0530, with a volume of 817,680 shares traded.

The business services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.96. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 10.11% and a negative net margin of 25.39%.The firm had revenue of $333.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.86 million.

More PRA Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting PRA Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results materially beat estimates — EPS $1.46 vs. consensus ~$0.50 and revenue $333.4M vs. ~$288.9M; cash collections rose ~13.6% and portfolio income improved, giving near‑term earnings and cashflow credibility. PRA Group Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Portfolio Income
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted record cash collections and a strategic push on IT (automation/analytics) and selective buying that could boost margin and future collections conversion if execution holds. PRA Group Inc (PRAA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary views the quarter as a constructive step but emphasizes this is an early stage of recovery; slide deck and call materials provide more detail for modeling assumptions. MarketBeat Q4 materials and call
• Negative Sentiment: PRAA still lags peer Encore Capital on portfolio yields and collections efficiency — analysts warn sustained stock upside requires improved acquisition execution, better collections yields and margin recovery. PRA Group: A Better Quarter Is Welcome, But A Lot Of Work Remains
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~61.6% in February (to ~1.27M shares, ~3.3% of float), a potential source of selling pressure or volatility if execution doubts persist. (Short-interest data reflected mid‑Feb positions.)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRAA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of PRA Group from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup cut shares of PRA Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of PRA Group from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PRA Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PRA Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in PRA Group by 7.1% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in PRA Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 94,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,679,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in PRA Group by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in PRA Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

PRA Group Trading Up 24.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $614.41 million, a P/E ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.39.

PRA Group Company 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.