DOWLING & PARTN Has Bearish Forecast for PRU FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• DOWLING & PARTN lowered Prudential Financial’s FY2026 EPS forecast to $13.70 from $14.65, below the current analyst consensus of $14.37.
• Prudential’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $4.08 versus the $3.52 consensus, although revenue of $14.15 billion fell short of estimates.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a consensus “Reduce” rating, with an average price target of $106.92, while Prudential offers a $1.40 quarterly dividend and a 4.7% yield.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) - Analysts at DOWLING & PARTN dropped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Prudential Financial in a report issued on Tuesday, October 20th. DOWLING & PARTN analyst J. Hurwitz now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $13.70 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $14.65. The consensus estimate for Prudential Financial's current full-year earnings is $14.37 per share.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PRU. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. TD Cowen dropped 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 note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $106.92.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $118.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.85. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $127.72. The company's 50-day moving average price is $117.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,164,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,852,593,000 after buying an additional 209,179 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $367,089,000 after acquiring an additional 166,641 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $209,055,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 at the SEC website. 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. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc NYSE: PRU is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial products. Founded in Newark, New Jersey, in 1875, the company serves individuals, businesses and institutional investors through a range of businesses and distribution channels.

In the United States, Prudential offers life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, including group life, disability and dental insurance.

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