PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Short Interest Up 58.0% in February

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 650,400 shares, an increase of 58.0% from the January 31st total of 411,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 257,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Truist Financial upped their target price on PRA Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Institutional Trading of PRA Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRAA. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in PRA Group during the 4th quarter worth about $353,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PRA Group during the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,193,000 after buying an additional 10,817 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of PRA Group by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 31,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 10,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of PRA Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $276,000. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PRA Group Price Performance

PRAA traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.93. 437,272 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 238,502. PRA Group has a 1-year low of $18.64 and a 1-year high of $28.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $825.21 million, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.68.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $293.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.81 million. PRA Group had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 6.33%. As a group, analysts expect that PRA Group will post 2.1 EPS 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.