ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) Short Interest Up 44.7% in March

ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 911,100 shares, a growth of 44.7% from the March 15th total of 629,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 762,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

ProAssurance Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PRA traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.16. 792,007 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,854. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90 and a beta of -0.09. ProAssurance has a 52-week low of $10.76 and a 52-week high of $23.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $18.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.77.

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

Institutional Trading of ProAssurance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of ProAssurance during the fourth quarter valued at $359,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in ProAssurance by 307.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 85,117 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after buying an additional 64,228 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of ProAssurance by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,968,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,610,000 after buying an additional 34,247 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of ProAssurance by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,634 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 16,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 86,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 31,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PRA. Citizens Jmp downgraded ProAssurance from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ProAssurance in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut ProAssurance to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered ProAssurance from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.67.

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.