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

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $119.33.

PRU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $121.16 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $118.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $87.95 and a 52-week high of $128.52. The company has a market capitalization of $43.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.34.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.78 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 88.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,705.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 78.8% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth $37,000. 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.