Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Underweight Rating for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU)

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating restated by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $92.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $106.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential downside of 6.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Barclays cut Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $100.17.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.1%

PRU stock opened at $98.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.97 and a 200-day moving average of $104.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard purchased 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $102.97 per share, with a total value of $25,742.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,742.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,970. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,650 shares of company stock valued at $168,841 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 93.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 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.