JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $117.00 to $129.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Mizuho boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $104.75.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $118.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.85. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $120.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.81 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.