Zacks Research Downgrades Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) to Strong Sell

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

PRU has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Barclays downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $101.75.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $98.27 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $34.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.57.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, Director Joseph J. Wolk acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,128. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,970. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 1,650 shares of company stock worth $168,841 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 25.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,630 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares during the period. 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.