Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Now Covered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $106.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company cut Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $115.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $113.89.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PRU opened at $95.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.98. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $119.76. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.68. 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 (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard purchased 250 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,742.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,406,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,738,348.88. This trade represents a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 28,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Mindset Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.1% in the third quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.