Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $105.00 to $110.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 3.12% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $101.92.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded down $1.80 on Wednesday, hitting $106.67. The stock had a trading volume of 358,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,808. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $102.01 and a 200 day moving average of $104.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $119.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.86.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 15.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,895 shares during the last quarter. 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.