Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 18th

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of 1.35 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Prudential Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years. Prudential Financial has a payout ratio of 34.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Prudential Financial to earn $14.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.0%.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of PRU opened at $113.90 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.38 and its 200 day moving average is $120.46. The company has a market capitalization of $40.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial has a 12-month low of $102.67 and a 12-month high of $130.55. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRU. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.77.

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.