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

Key Points

• Prudential Financial, Inc. has received an average brokerage rating of "Hold", with one sell, nine hold, and one buy recommendation among eleven research firms analyzing the stock.
• Prudential Financial recently reported earnings of $3.58 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and posting $13.50 billion in revenue.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35, translating to an annualized yield of 5.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 119.73%.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $122.0833.

Several research firms recently commented on PRU. UBS Group reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. The trade was a 112.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 871 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 7,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded up $0.8170 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $107.0670. 1,512,003 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,773,123. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $104.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $37.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The business had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 119.73%.

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.