Wall Street Zen Downgrades PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) to Buy

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PRA Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

PRA Group Stock Performance

PRAA opened at $16.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.47. PRA Group has a one year low of $10.25 and a one year high of $22.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $610.62 million, a P/E ratio of -2.24 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PRA Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in PRA Group by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 111,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 15,538 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new position in PRA Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $298,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in PRA Group by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in PRA Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $366,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in PRA Group by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 49,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $864,000 after acquiring an additional 7,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

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.