ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 629,700 shares, an increase of 26.4% from the February 28th total of 498,300 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 593,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on ProAssurance in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of ProAssurance

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in ProAssurance by 2,655.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 645,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,268,000 after buying an additional 621,935 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of ProAssurance in the third quarter valued at about $5,140,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in ProAssurance by 92.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 690,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,992,000 after acquiring an additional 331,224 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in ProAssurance in the 4th quarter worth about $2,466,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in ProAssurance by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,703,953 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,019,000 after purchasing an additional 123,232 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ProAssurance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRA traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $23.37. The company had a trading volume of 638,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,543. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.92. ProAssurance has a 1-year low of $10.76 and a 1-year high of $23.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $287.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.56 million. ProAssurance had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 2.65%. Analysts expect that ProAssurance will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

About ProAssurance

ProAssurance Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance, and reinsurance products in the United States. The company operates through Specialty Property and Casualty, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, and Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segments. It offers professional liability insurance to healthcare providers and institutions, and attorneys and their firms; medical technology liability insurance to medical technology and life sciences companies; and custom alternative risk solutions, including assumed reinsurance, loss portfolio transfers, and captive cell programs for healthcare professional liability insureds.