Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 17th

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of 1.40 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, March 12th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a 3.7% increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35.

Prudential Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Prudential Financial has a payout ratio of 36.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Prudential Financial to earn $15.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.4%.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $102.10 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $35.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 6.20%.The firm had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PRU. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.78.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.