Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Prudential Public shares hit a new 52-week high of $28.31 on Monday, with a last traded price of $28.18 and a trading volume of 30,175 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings: Barclays maintains an "overweight" rating, while Wall Street Zen lowered the stock to "hold", and Deutsche Bank upgraded it to "buy".
• The company announced a dividend of $0.1542 per share, with a payout ratio of 12.50% and a yield of 117.0%, to be paid on October 16th.

Prudential Public Limited Company (NYSE:PUK - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.31 and last traded at $28.18, with a volume of 30175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PUK. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Prudential Public in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Public from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Prudential Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Prudential Public in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Prudential Public Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.87.

Prudential Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.1542 dividend. This represents a yield of 117.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Prudential Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Public

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PUK. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Public by 99.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 819,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,504,000 after purchasing an additional 409,517 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Prudential Public by 725.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 385,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,656,000 after purchasing an additional 339,188 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Public by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 2,353,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,604,000 after purchasing an additional 216,828 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Public by 30.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 822,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,589,000 after purchasing an additional 193,454 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Public by 23.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 784,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,860,000 after buying an additional 147,575 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.90% of the company's stock.

About Prudential Public

Prudential plc, through its subsidiaries, provides life and health insurance, and asset management solutions to individuals in Asia and Africa. The company was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.

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