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

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $101.50.

Several analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,381,000 after acquiring an additional 210,959 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after acquiring an additional 26,414 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,562,000 after acquiring an additional 420,081 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,089,000 after acquiring an additional 166,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,214,000 after acquiring an additional 62,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $108.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $119.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.35.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

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.