Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $106.00 to $104.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 7.26% from the company’s previous close.

PRU has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $109.78.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $96.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $98.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.09. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $119.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph J. Wolk purchased 400 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $42,128. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis purchased 1,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $100.97 per share, with a total value of $100,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,970. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 230.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 958,672 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 183.3% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,440,000 after purchasing an additional 520,425 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,562,000 after purchasing an additional 420,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 209.2% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 520,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,871,000 after purchasing an additional 351,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Prudential Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Prudential Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Prudential is highlighted as a high-dividend blue-chip (roughly ~5.8% yield in recent coverage), which supports income-focused demand and can stabilize the share price for long-term investors. 5 Blue-Chip Stocks with Highest Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect a modest, single-digit increase in profits for Prudential’s upcoming Q1 FY2026 results; that reduces the risk of a large miss but also limits upside surprise potential. Quarterly Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Wolfe Research maintains a Hold on PRU, signaling no near-term conviction to add or cut from a major research house. Wolfe Research Remains a Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s Financial Services Agency has intensified an inspection of Prudential’s Japanese unit over alleged employee and sales misconduct — a direct hit to a key international profit engine that raises potential compliance costs, fines, and reputational risk. Japan Scrutiny Tests Prudential Financial’s Governance And Japan Profit Engine
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple brokerages trimmed price targets and adjusted ratings this week (UBS to $98/neutral, Keefe Bruyette & Woods to $104/market perform, Wells Fargo to $95/underweight), signaling reduced analyst confidence and adding near-term selling pressure. UBS price target cut Keefe/Benzinga Wells/TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: An institutional investor (Bfsg LLC) reduced its PRU stake by ~25.5% in the latest filing, which can signal reallocation or loss of confidence and may add to downward pressure. Bfsg LLC Decreases Holdings

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.