Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $102.73.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.9% during the second quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 2,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the second quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 54.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

PRU stock opened at $98.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $75.37 and a twelve month high of $110.96. The company has a market cap of $35.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.64 and a 200-day moving average of $87.95.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.04 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $12.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.68 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 1.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 21st. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.07%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 166.67%.

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 Annuities, Individual Life, Assurance IQ, and International Businesses segments.