ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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 daily 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 opened at $23.16 on Friday. ProAssurance has a 12 month low of $10.76 and a 12 month high of $23.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90 and a beta of -0.09.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProAssurance

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 859.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 307.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,073 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 75.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in ProAssurance by 148.6% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 6,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 3,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in ProAssurance during the fourth quarter valued at $150,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

ProAssurance Company Profile

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.