Barclays Cuts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $119.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $124.00 to $119.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.72% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $115.22.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of PRU stock traded down $1.57 on Wednesday, hitting $93.91. 629,179 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,298,211. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $119.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $106.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.68 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. 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 earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard acquired 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $102.97 per share, with a total value of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 250 shares in the company, valued at $25,742.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,406,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,738,348.88. This represents a 22.32% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 5,412 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $1,285,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 312.8% in the third quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 9,183 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,856,000. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,291,000 after acquiring an additional 19,600 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.