PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Short Interest Down 42.7% in June

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 868,056 shares, a decline of 42.7% from the June 15th total of 1,515,485 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,422,498 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PRA Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PRAA. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PRA Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PRA Group by 145.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 146.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 375.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new position in shares of PRA Group in the second quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

PRA Group Trading Down 1.6%

PRAA traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.12. 240,141 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 460,328. PRA Group has a 1 year low of $10.25 and a 1 year high of $22.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.56. The firm has a market cap of $691.10 million, a P/E ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PRAA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

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.