Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Now Covered by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a peer perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

PRU has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock opened at $102.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.35. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 119.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 728.4% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 68.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 110,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,373,000 after buying an additional 44,937 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 109,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,217,000 after buying an additional 3,183 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 Life, and International Businesses segments.