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

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $125.69.

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

PRU stock opened at $127.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.11. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $93.32 and a 12 month high of $129.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,312.4% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 26,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.