StockNews.com Begins Coverage on ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of ProAssurance in a research note on Friday, February 24th. They issued a neutral rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of ProAssurance from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th.

ProAssurance Trading Down 4.3 %

NYSE PRA opened at $17.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. ProAssurance has a one year low of $16.90 and a one year high of $27.55.

ProAssurance (NYSE:PRA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The insurance provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. ProAssurance had a negative net margin of 0.04% and a positive return on equity of 2.12%. The business had revenue of $294.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ProAssurance will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

ProAssurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 29th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 28th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. ProAssurance’s payout ratio is -1,998.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProAssurance

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in shares of ProAssurance during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ProAssurance during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of ProAssurance in the third quarter worth $48,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ProAssurance in the second quarter worth $84,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ProAssurance in the fourth quarter worth $181,000. 84.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ProAssurance

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ProAssurance Corp. is a holding company. It operates through the following segments: Specialty Property and Casualty, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, Lloyd’s Syndicate, Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance and Corporate. The Specialty Property and Casualty segment includes professional liability business and medical technology and life sciences business.