Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Lowered to $95.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Prudential from $103 to $95 and kept an underweight rating, implying roughly a 1.9% downside from the stock's recent price.
• Several other firms have trimmed targets (Barclays, Morgan Stanley, etc.), leaving the consensus rating at Reduce with an average analyst target of $110.
• Shares traded around $96.85 after Prudential reported a quarterly EPS miss ($3.30 vs. $3.37) despite a slight revenue beat, and insiders bought about 1.41M shares (~$35.15M) over the last 90 days while owning only 0.05% of the stock.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.91% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Prudential Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $110.00.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.85. 214,810 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,297,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $119.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.12.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard acquired 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,742.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph J. Wolk acquired 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,128. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last ninety days. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

About Prudential Financial

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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