Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) to Buy

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $143.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $121.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James lowered Prudential Financial from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a c+ rating to an a- rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $115.25.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock traded up $1.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $119.49. 1,568,598 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,506,048. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.76. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $78.40 and a 52 week high of $121.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. Prudential Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 88.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 202,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,536 shares of company stock valued at $19,245,606 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,386,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,154,865 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,317,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $599,452,000 after buying an additional 57,531 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,353,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $413,064,000 after acquiring an additional 197,422 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $414,926,000 after acquiring an additional 388,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,346,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,367,000 after acquiring an additional 72,696 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prudential Financial

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.