Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price boosted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential downside of 2.28% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PRU. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.80.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.9%

PRU opened at $117.69 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $123.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $111.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.54. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 4.65%.The business had revenue of $17.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at $2,618,974.44. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. The trade was a 40.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 312.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,183 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth $5,856,000. Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at $1,662,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 384,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,878,000 after acquiring an additional 85,072 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.9% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 40,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,176,000 after acquiring an additional 9,741 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.