Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $120.06, but opened at $116.00. Prudential Financial shares last traded at $115.89, with a volume of 194,752 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PRU. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.00.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 2.2 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 7.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 162,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,701,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 18.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,395,000 after acquiring an additional 10,964 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.