Wall Street Zen Downgrades Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Prudential Financial to “Hold” from “Buy.” Analyst sentiment is generally cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating, including one Buy, ten Holds, and five Sells; the average price target is $109.31.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding the $3.52 analyst consensus, while revenue of $14.15 billion fell slightly short of the $14.36 billion estimate.
• PRU shares opened at $119.39, near the upper end of their one-year range of $91.89 to $127.72. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the stock, while company insiders recently reported share sales.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $119.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $120.59 and a 200-day moving average of $108.78. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $127.72. The company has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,507,481,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $209,055,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $208,957,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at $157,752,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,371 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 1875 as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society, the company has grown from a life insurance provider into a diversified business offering insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial services.

Through its U.S. businesses, Prudential provides individual life insurance and annuities, workplace retirement plans, pension risk transfer solutions, group life and disability insurance, and other benefits and financial wellness products.

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