Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Rating Increased to Inline at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from an underperform rating to an inline rating in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Evercore ISI currently has $140.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $117.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Argus raised shares of Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $127.41 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $122.20 and a 200-day moving average of $119.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $93.32 and a 1 year high of $129.13. The company has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. This represents a 16.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 78.8% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,312.4% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 26,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.