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

ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 629,700 shares, a growth of 26.4% from the February 28th total of 498,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 593,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company's shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProAssurance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRA. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ProAssurance by 859.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 75.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ProAssurance by 148.6% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 6,214 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in ProAssurance by 94.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,347 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 4,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in ProAssurance in the fourth quarter worth about $150,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PRA. Citizens Jmp cut shares of ProAssurance from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ProAssurance in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.67.

ProAssurance Trading Down 0.4 %

PRA stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,510,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,100. ProAssurance has a 12 month low of $10.76 and a 12 month high of $23.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02 and a beta of -0.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.07 and a 200 day moving average of $16.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $287.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $274.56 million. ProAssurance had a return on equity of 2.65% and a net margin of 3.71%. On average, equities analysts predict that ProAssurance will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.