Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage of Prudential Financial with a "market perform" rating and a $106 price target, implying about a 12% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is weak overall — the consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $113.89 average target, and several brokers (Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Weiss) recently cut ratings or price objectives.
• PRU trades around $94.61 (down 0.7%), below its 50- and 200-day moving averages, with a P/E of 9.48 after a slight quarterly EPS miss, while insiders purchased roughly $35 million of stock over the past 90 days and institutions own about 56.8% of shares.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "market perform" rating and a $106.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.04% from the company's previous close.

PRU has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Prudential Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $113.89.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of PRU stock traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $94.61. 847,999 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,353,078. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $32.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $101.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.75. Prudential Financial has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, Director Joseph J. Wolk bought 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $105.32 per share, with a total value of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,128. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas D. Stoddard purchased 250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $102.97 per share, with a total value of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,742.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,945,381,000 after buying an additional 210,959 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after acquiring an additional 26,414 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $750,562,000 after acquiring an additional 420,081 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,214,000 after acquiring an additional 62,366 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,428,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $274,151,000 after purchasing an additional 15,865 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential's long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential's core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.

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