Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) Short Interest Up 42.6% in February

Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,440,000 shares, a growth of 42.6% from the January 31st total of 1,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 958,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Prudential

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Prudential in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,207,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,554,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,775,000 after acquiring an additional 968,317 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Prudential by 1,133.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,051,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,757,000 after purchasing an additional 965,985 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Prudential by 321.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,236,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,713,000 after buying an additional 943,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of Prudential by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 629,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,035,000 after acquiring an additional 303,783 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Prudential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Prudential Price Performance

Shares of PUK stock traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.46. The stock had a trading volume of 533,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,044,957. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.83. Prudential has a 12-month low of $14.39 and a 12-month high of $21.27.

About Prudential

Prudential plc, through its subsidiaries, provides life and health insurance, and asset management solutions to individuals in Asia and Africa. The company was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.