Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Sell"

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

PRU has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $120.15.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.8%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $105.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $102.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.85. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $37.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 87,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 90.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth about $26,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth about $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

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.

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