Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Prudential from $95 to $93 and maintained an "underweight" rating, implying roughly a 4.82% downside from the prior close.
• Multiple brokers (Jefferies, Barclays, Keefe, Mizuho, Weiss) have reduced ratings or targets, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Reduce" with a $100 consensus price target and a mix of nine Holds and six Sells.
• Prudential shares traded around $97.71—below the 200‑day average of $104.60—after a quarterly EPS miss ($3.30 vs. $3.37); the company has a market cap near $34 billion and a P/E of about 9.8.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $93.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential downside of 4.82% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $124.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays cut Prudential Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Prudential Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.71. 193,514 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,305,364. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $96.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.60. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $119.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $33.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.86.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard acquired 250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $102.97 per share, with a total value of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 250 shares in the company, valued at $25,742.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph J. Wolk acquired 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,128. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,650 shares of company stock valued at $168,841 over the last ninety days. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

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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