Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Raised to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $143.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $121.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a c+ rating to an a- rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James downgraded Prudential Financial from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $115.25.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $119.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.68 and its 200 day moving average is $107.23. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $78.40 and a 52 week high of $121.39.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 88.44%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 164,536 shares of company stock valued at $19,245,606 in the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 163.5% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 4,306 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,112,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $815,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,500,000 after buying an additional 34,054 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is 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.