Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $119.00 to $129.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PRU. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price target 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.17.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $118.36 on Monday. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $100.60 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 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 purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,597,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 162,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,701,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 18.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,395,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently 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.