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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.2%

PRU stock opened at $106.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.52 and a 200-day simple 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. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

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

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.