Prudential (NYSE:PUK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $23.01 and last traded at $22.90, with a volume of 1346387 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Prudential in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Prudential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Prudential Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $29.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.98.

Prudential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.3258 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential’s previous dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Prudential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PUK. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Prudential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $199,000. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential in the third quarter valued at approximately $556,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential by 353.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 293,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,436,000 after buying an additional 228,499 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential by 95.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Prudential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

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.