Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Barclays from $119.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.39% from the company's current price.

PRU has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.62.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $0.90 on Thursday, hitting $103.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,301,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,424. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $36.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. Prudential Financial's revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 350.8% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 266 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by 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.