Prudential Public Limited Company (NYSE:PUK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Prudential Public Limited Company (NYSE:PUK) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.30.

Several analysts have issued reports on PUK shares. Zacks Research lowered Prudential Public from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Berenberg Bank set a $39.30 price target on Prudential Public and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Public in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Public from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Prudential Public Stock Performance

NYSE:PUK opened at $26.64 on Tuesday. Prudential Public has a twelve month low of $24.61 and a twelve month high of $34.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter. Analysts predict that Prudential Public will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.1776 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 133.0%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Public

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PUK. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Prudential Public by 13.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,397,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,157,000 after purchasing an additional 292,677 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Public by 14,270.3% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 251,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,137,000 after buying an additional 249,302 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Prudential Public by 9.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,826,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,201,000 after buying an additional 240,416 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Public by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,470,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,100,000 after purchasing an additional 238,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Prudential Public by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 638,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,153,000 after purchasing an additional 199,548 shares in the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Public Company Profile

Prudential plc is a United Kingdom-based international financial services group focused on life and health insurance, retirement solutions and related financial products. The company serves individuals and businesses through products that may include life insurance, medical and health coverage, savings and investment-linked policies, pensions and retirement planning solutions.

Prudential operates primarily in Asia and Africa, with markets including Hong Kong, mainland China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries in the region.