Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a growth of 46.5% from the March 15th total of 1,290,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential by 417.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Prudential in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prudential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Prudential Stock Up 2.6 %

PUK stock opened at $20.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.53. The firm has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.00. Prudential has a 12 month low of $14.39 and a 12 month high of $22.01.

Prudential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.3258 per share. This is an increase from Prudential’s previous dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Prudential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.02%.

About Prudential

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.