Zacks Research Upgrades Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK) to Hold

Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on PUK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Public in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prudential Public from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $39.30 price objective on Prudential Public and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.30.

Prudential Public Price Performance

NYSE PUK opened at $25.83 on Monday. Prudential Public has a twelve month low of $24.61 and a twelve month high of $34.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.64.

Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Public will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Public

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

About Prudential Public

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.