Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $115.25.

Several brokerages have recently commented on PRU. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $115.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.99. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $83.34 and a fifty-two week high of $121.39. The firm has a market cap of $41.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 163.5% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,306 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,801,000 after buying an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $1,087,000. Crestline Management LP boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $815,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Prudential Financial

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.