Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.67.

PRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $123.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.75. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $87.95 and a one year high of $128.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business’s revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,386,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,154,865 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $414,926,000 after acquiring an additional 388,363 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,346,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,367,000 after acquiring an additional 72,696 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,248 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,107,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,829,000 after purchasing an additional 302,164 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.