Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Downgraded by Barclays to “Underweight”

Barclays cut shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $91.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $110.00.

PRU has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $103.45.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $95.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.93 and a 200 day moving average of $104.85. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,406,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $34,985,598.93. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,738,348.88. This represents a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph J. Wolk bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,128. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Global Investments raised its position in Prudential Financial by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 5,412 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,285,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 312.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,183 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,856,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Prudential Financial by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 157,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 76,461 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Prudential Financial News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management is taking decisive action and treating Japan as a core market — Prudential publicly extended the voluntary suspension to complete governance, compensation and sales-oversight reforms, signaling a preference for remediation over rushing sales restart. Prudential of Japan Extends Voluntary Sales Suspension by an Additional 180 Days
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler trimmed its price target to $99 and moved to a “neutral” rating, leaving only modest upside vs. the current price — this reflects recalibration rather than an outright bearish thesis. Piper Sandler note
• Negative Sentiment: Prudential now expects a roughly $525M–$575M pre-tax adjusted operating-income hit to 2026 tied to the extended Japan sales suspension, a much larger drag than earlier estimates — this directly pressures near‑term earnings and valuation. Prudential Stock Slumps. A Misconduct Probe in Japan Is Getting ‘Ugly.’
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple brokers downgraded PRU and cut targets today: Jefferies from Buy to Hold (PT $98) and Barclays from Equal Weight to Underweight (PT $91), increasing downside risk and likely triggering short-term selling. Analyst downgrades Finviz
• Negative Sentiment: Media reports and Nikkei coverage point to a misconduct probe at Prudential’s Japan unit, heightening regulatory and reputational risk beyond the sales pause. Nikkei probe report
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and a recently restated/updated quarterly supplement have refocused investor attention on segment metrics and disclosures, contributing to sentiment headwinds. QuiverQuant analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha transcript and company conference call provide management commentary on the extension and finances — useful for investors wanting primary-source color on remediation timelines and assumptions. Conference call transcript

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.