Short Interest in PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Increases By 37.4%

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 793,100 shares, a growth of 37.4% from the April 30th total of 577,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 466,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRAA. Wall Street Zen downgraded PRA Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JMP Securities reduced their price target on shares of PRA Group from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brett Lee Paschke bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.39 per share, with a total value of $66,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 30,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,449.84. This trade represents a 19.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PRA Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,322,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,132,000 after purchasing an additional 21,934 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in PRA Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,881,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,045,000 after purchasing an additional 120,965 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in PRA Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,018,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,615,000 after buying an additional 122,200 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in PRA Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,934,124 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,404,000 after buying an additional 121,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in PRA Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,883,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,840,000 after buying an additional 21,627 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

PRA Group Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ PRAA opened at $14.21 on Monday. PRA Group has a 52 week low of $12.91 and a 52 week high of $27.54. The stock has a market cap of $563.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.71.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The business services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.32). PRA Group had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 6.33%. The business had revenue of $269.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PRA Group will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.