Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 41,668 Shares of PRA Group, Inc. $PRAA

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) by 33.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 83,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 41,668 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.22% of PRA Group worth $1,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of PRA Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 3,229 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of PRA Group by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 217,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 80,945 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in PRA Group by 15.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 819,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,091,000 after acquiring an additional 109,857 shares in the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PRAA shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PRA Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

PRA Group Stock Up 4.5%

NASDAQ PRAA opened at $19.58 on Thursday. PRA Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.25 and a 52 week high of $22.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.66. The company has a market cap of $737.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 1.11.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.99. The company had revenue of $372.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.99 million. PRA Group had a positive return on equity of 15.56% and a negative net margin of 19.91%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PRA Group, Inc. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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.