Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price target (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Argus downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $104.58.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock opened at $119.05 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.85. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $120.53.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 95.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,371 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $140,530,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 230.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,374,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,206,000 after purchasing an additional 958,672 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 379.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 619,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,884,000 after purchasing an additional 490,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Prudential Financial by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,588,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,156,000 after purchasing an additional 431,527 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.