Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Given New $152.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PRU. 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.33.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:PRU opened at $120.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.44. The stock has a market cap of $42.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $100.60 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 61.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 235.4% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.