Short Interest in ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) Grows By 26.4%

ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) saw a large growth in short interest during 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 trading volume of 593,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProAssurance

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 859.4% in 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 last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 75.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its position in ProAssurance by 148.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in ProAssurance by 94.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 4,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in ProAssurance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

ProAssurance Stock Performance

NYSE:PRA traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.35. 123,347 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 366,167. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.21. 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 has a twelve month low of $10.76 and a twelve month high of $23.46.

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

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.