Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Hold

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $98.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $124.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $103.45.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.5%

PRU opened at $95.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $97.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $119.76.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Joseph J. Wolk bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $105.32 per share, with a total value of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,128. 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, Director Thomas D. Stoddard bought 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,742.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by 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.