Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives $125.69 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $126.15.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $115.07 on Monday. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $104.44 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.77.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 203,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,642,000 after purchasing an additional 22,588 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.1% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 29,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,563,000 after acquiring an additional 5,129 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 153,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,589,000 after purchasing an additional 29,200 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.