Portfolio Recovery Associates Earnings Preview

Portfolio Recovery Associates (Nasdaq: PRAA  ) will try to beat its earnings estimates for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, July 28. Portfolio Recovery Associates is engaged in the business of purchasing, managing, and collecting portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables, as well as offering a range of accounts receivable management and payment processing services.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back Portfolio Recovery Associates, with seven of eight rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Portfolio Recovery Associates' rating hasn't changed over the past three months.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $113.9 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 22.4% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $1.41 per share. Estimates range from $1.36 to $1.47.

What our community says:
CAPS All Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 98.4% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All Stars, with 97.2% awarding it a rating of "outperform." Fools are bullish on Portfolio Recovery Associates and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 911 posts in the past 30 days. Even with a robust four out of five stars, Portfolio Recovery Associates' CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.

Management:
Portfolio Recovery Associates' profit has risen year-over-year by an average of 68%.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows net margins over the past four quarters:

Quarter	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2
Net Margin	20.7%	20.5%	19.3%	21%

One final thing: If you want to keep tabs on Portfolio Recovery Associates movements, and for more analysis on the company, make sure you add it to your Watchlist.

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