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

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $127.25.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $122.12 and its 200 day moving average is $120.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% in 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 buying an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in 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 valued at $9,597,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.7% in 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 and hedge funds 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.