Wall Street Zen Downgrades Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) to Sell

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $105.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.60. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRU. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth $61,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter worth $2,150,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 11,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 109,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 5.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.