Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.15.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:PRU opened at $106.08 on Friday. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $102.52 and a 200 day moving average of $111.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 7,977 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $2,897,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 806,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,541,000 after purchasing an additional 8,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 57,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,794,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in 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.