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

ProAssurance Co. (NYSE:PRA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.29 and last traded at $23.05, with a volume of 17275803 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut ProAssurance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

ProAssurance Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.40 and a 200 day moving average of $15.40.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.19. The firm 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ProAssurance Co. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProAssurance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRA. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in ProAssurance by 402.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 68,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 54,806 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in ProAssurance by 197.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,063 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 8,012 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in ProAssurance by 30.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,978 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,149 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in ProAssurance by 164.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 36,589 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 22,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in ProAssurance by 94.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 8,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 4,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.