BMO Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU)

Research analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target points to a potential downside of 13.84% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.31.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

PRU opened at $117.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $100.60 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.66.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.