ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.63 and last traded at $23.19, with a volume of 4981 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on PRA shares. Citizens Jmp downgraded ProAssurance from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ProAssurance in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.67.

ProAssurance Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97 and a beta of -0.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.07 and its 200 day moving average is $16.14.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) last posted 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. ProAssurance had a return on equity of 2.65% and a net margin of 3.71%. The firm had revenue of $287.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.56 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that ProAssurance Co. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of ProAssurance by 3.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,164,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,588,000 after buying an additional 91,987 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in ProAssurance by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,703,953 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,019,000 after purchasing an additional 123,232 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in ProAssurance by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,968,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,610,000 after purchasing an additional 34,247 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of ProAssurance by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,316,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of ProAssurance by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 690,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,992,000 after buying an additional 331,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.