Prudential Financial (PRU – Research Report), the Financial sector company, was revisited by a Wall Street analyst yesterday. Analyst Joshua Shanker from Bank of America Securities reiterated a Hold rating on the stock and has a $126.00 price target.
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Joshua Shanker has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors surrounding Prudential Financial’s recent performance. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $2.96 fell short of both the firm’s forecast of $3.14 and the broader market consensus of $3.25. This underperformance was largely due to disappointing results in the Individual Life and Retirement segments, although there was some offsetting success in Investment Management and International operations.
Despite the earnings miss, sales growth has remained robust, with Individual Life sales increasing by 59% year-over-year and Retirement sales growing by 73% year-over-year. While Investment Management showed strong operating income, ongoing negative cash flows remain a concern. Shanker notes that the limited upside potential relative to the firm’s price objective of $126, which is only slightly higher than the current stock price, justifies maintaining a Neutral rating on the stock.
According to TipRanks, Shanker is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 8.9% and a 59.78% success rate. Shanker covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as Progressive, Axis Capital, and Everest Group.
In another report released today, Barclays also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $134.00 price target.