Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $98.00

by · The Markets Daily

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU – Free Report) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $94.00 to $98.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $119.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $112.40.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial Stock Down 2.5%

Prudential Financial stock traded down $3.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.36. 2,082,336 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,705,684. The company’s 50-day moving average is $116.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $128.78. The firm has a market cap of $41.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.66 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Orca Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $2,605,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 21.3% in the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 58,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,325,000 after buying an additional 10,257 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 739,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,792,000 after acquiring an additional 19,451 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 7.3% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 91,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,999,000 after acquiring an additional 6,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 379.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 619,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,884,000 after acquiring an additional 490,553 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Prudential Financial, Inc is a financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as the Prudential Friendly Society, it has grown into a provider of insurance, retirement and investment services.

The company offers life insurance, annuities, workplace benefits and retirement-related products and services. Through its asset management businesses, Prudential also serves individual and institutional investors.

Prudential serves customers in the United States and operates internationally, with a significant presence in Japan and other markets.

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