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

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $101.91.

PRU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 9th.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $99.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.37, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.42. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $85.46 and a 1-year high of $122.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $12.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.78 billion. Prudential Financial had a positive return on equity of 13.31% and a negative net margin of 2.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 12.2 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 17th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is -126.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.55, for a total transaction of $207,100.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,302.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.55, for a total transaction of $207,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,302.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 11,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total transaction of $1,151,334.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 3,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 8,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 56.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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Prudential Financial, Inc engages in the provision of insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both individual and institutional customers. It operates through the following segments: PGIM, U.S. Businesses, International Businesses, Closed Block, and Corporate and Others.