Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $129.43 and last traded at $129.31, with a volume of 61246 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $127.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $123.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.74. The company has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $156,000. PGGM Investments grew its position in Prudential Financial by 98.0% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 64,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,533,000 after purchasing an additional 31,807 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 80,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,409,000 after buying an additional 26,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $530,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.