Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.15.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $104.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $36.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.30. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 85.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at $2,150,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 109,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,183 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 15.8% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.