October 24, 2024
Top 10 Stock PRA Hold Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: PRA – Top 10 Stock in Employee Health Leaders in the United States
PRA is listed as a top 10 stock on October 24, 2024 in the market index Employee Health US because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Only the Obermatt Value Rank exhibits above-average performance, which means that the stock is seen as critical by the professional community and other financial facts are below average, conveying mixed investment signals. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 30 (30% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for PRA on October 24, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Consumer Finance |
| Index | Employee Focus US, Employee Health US, NASDAQ |
| Size class | Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View PRA Hold
| 360 METRICS | October 24, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 59 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 41 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 38 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 25 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 30 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 30 (better than 30% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock PRA are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for PRA. Only the consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 59, which means that the share price of PRA is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means that the stock price is lower than for 59% of alternative stocks in the same industry. All other consolidated ranks are below average. The consolidated Growth Rank has a low rank of 41, which means that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. The consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 38, meaning the company has a riskier financing structure than 62% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, professionals are more pessimistic about the stock than for 75% of alternative investment opportunities, reflected in the consolidated Sentiment Rank of 25. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 30, PRA is worse than 70% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Only one of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibits above-average performance, namely the Value Rank at a level of 59. All other ranks are below average, so proceed with caution. The company has below-average growth expectations (Growth Rank of 41), a riskier financing structure than the competition (Safety Rank of 38), and the market sentiment in the professional investor community ranking at (Sentiment Rank of 25) is negative. This combination is sensitive to a crisis, because high debt levels (low safety) require growth to finance the debt burden. It’s no wonder that the investor community indicators are skeptical (low sentiment). Good value is sometimes an indication that the company's future is challenging. The below-par growth performance may be the reason for this assessment. We recommend evaluating whether the future of PRA is as challenging as the low price of the stock suggests. Since the professional community is pessimistic, you might need to worry about the future of PRA. Only invest if you have solid reasons to believe that the low growth is temporary and the current market sentiment is an overreaction, possibly due to reputational issues in the past. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for PRA only reserved
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 25 (better than 25% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock PRA is below industry average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for PRA. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 46 (worse than 54% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 50, which means that stock research experts have found something to make them more positive about investing in the company. In other words, they are getting more optimistic of stock investments in PRA. But the Professional Investors rank is low at 17, which means that professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 83% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to invest in other companies. Market Pulse is also low at a rank of 16, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be negative when discussing this company (more negative news than for 84% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 25 (less encouraging than 75% compared with investment alternatives), PRA has a reputation among professional investors that is below that of its competitors. These are quite a few negative sentiment signals. One may want to trust the analysts that are changing their opinions. They may be early indications of better times, especially if the company is a smaller one. But If they are an extra large company, they should have more professional stockholders than are currently present. ...read more
Value Strategy: PRA Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 59 (better than 59% compared with alternatives), PRA shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where half the indicators are below and half above average for PRA. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 87, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 87% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning PRA's revenue size. The same is valid for the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio), which is more favorable than for 89% of alternatives (11% of peers have a higher ratio). But expected dividend yields with a Dividend Yield rank of 1 are lower than average (dividends are expected to be lower than 99% of other stocks) while the Price to Profit ratio (or Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio) is higher than average with a Price-to-Profit Rank of 48, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected profit levels. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 59, is a buy recommendation based on PRA's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Low profits and low dividends as seen here for PRA may indicate a restructuring phase. This could be transitory, making the company a good value when profits recover and dividends return to higher levels. If the stock price is compared with the size indicators for revenue and invested capital, it is on the lower side, making this stock a good value investment (apart from current profit and dividend expectations). ...read more
Growth Strategy: PRA Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 41 (better than 41% compared with alternatives), PRA shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for PRA. While Profit Growth has a good rank of 94, as professionals currently expect the company to grow its profits more than 94% of its competitors, all other growth indicators are below market averages. Sales Growth has a rank of 26, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 74% of its competitors, while Capital Growth has a rank of 15 and Stock Returns have been below market median, with a rank of 45 (55% of alternative investments were better). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 41, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. While revenue growth and capital growth are good growth momentum indicators, profit is less reliable, because profits may increase due to cost-cutting measures which typically indicate negative growth momentum. "You can save a dollar only once" is the saying about such situations. Growth Investors should look at company priorities closely if they are interested in growth, because the increase in profits is not usually an indicator of growth, and stock prices have been below market, too. ...read more
Safety Strategy: PRA Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | October 24, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 39 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 55 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 24 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 38 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 38 (better than 38% compared with alternatives), the company PRA has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of PRA is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for PRA and the other two below average. Refinancing is at 55, meaning the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 55% of its competitors. But Leverage is high with a rank of 39, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 61% of its competitors. Liquidity is also on the riskier side with a rank of 24, meaning the company generates less profit to service its debt than 76% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 38 (worse than 62% compared with alternatives), PRA has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. A good Refinancing Rank means that the problems of the company may not be around the corner. But high Leverage is only good if things go well, and low Liquidity is a signal for caution. The financing signals for PRA are on the riskier side, requiring the company's future to be on the safer side. Investors may want to look at Growth and Sentiment ranks before making an investment decision. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: PRA Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | October 24, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 59 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 41 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 24 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 50 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 50 (better than 50% compared with investment alternatives), PRA (Consumer Finance, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of PRA are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 59 (better than 59% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 41), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 38), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 50, is a buy recommendation based on PRA's financial characteristics. As the company PRA's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 59) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 41) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 38), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 59% of comparable companies, may indicate the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity. ...read more
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