Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE:PRU) – Research analysts at B. Riley lowered their FY2019 EPS estimates for shares of Prudential Financial in a report released on Friday, December 6th, Zacks Investment Research reports. B. Riley analyst R. Binner now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $11.75 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $11.85. B. Riley also issued estimates for Prudential Financial’s FY2020 earnings at $12.05 EPS and FY2021 earnings at $13.15 EPS.
Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $3.07 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 6.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.15 EPS.
A number of other research analysts also recently commented on PRU. Wells Fargo & Co downgraded Prudential Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $92.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Prudential Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $107.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $107.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $98.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.81.
Shares of NYSE PRU traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $93.74. 1,355,319 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,750,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.59. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $77.65 and a one year high of $106.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $93.54 and its 200 day moving average is $92.08.
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Evoke Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth $81,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 129.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 7,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 4,423 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at $74,000. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.9% during the third quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 11,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at $18,733,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.20% of the company’s stock.
In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Scott Sleyster sold 12,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,169,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,746 shares in the company, valued at $5,017,140. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 34.22%.
About Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services. It operates through PGIM, U.S. Workplace Solutions, U.S. Individual Solutions, and International Insurance divisions. The PGIM division offers an array of asset management and advisory services related to public and private fixed income, public equity and real estate, commercial mortgage origination and servicing, and mutual funds and other retail services to institutional, private, and sub-advisory clients, as well as to insurance company separate accounts, government sponsored entities, and the general account.
