Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $120.31 and last traded at $120.1680, with a volume of 232580 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $104.58.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

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 market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.17.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $215,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 325,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,105,000 after acquiring an additional 26,120 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Prudential Financial by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Tema ETFs LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 7,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 59,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,384,000 after acquiring an additional 11,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.