Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have assigned Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) a consensus recommendation of "Hold", with one sell rating, nine hold ratings, and one buy rating.
• The average 1-year price target for Prudential Financial among brokers is $122.08, highlighting diverse outlooks on the company’s stock.
• Prudential Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing a dividend yield of 5.0% and a payout ratio of 119.73%.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $122.0833.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PRU. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,744,723.04. The trade was a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,320,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 728.4% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 68.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 110,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,373,000 after purchasing an additional 44,937 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 35,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,913 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE PRU opened at $107.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $37.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 119.73%.

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.

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