Prudential Offers Class Q Shares - Analyst Blog

The mutual fund unit of Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) announced yesterday the launch of Class Q shares for members of its group retirement plans.

The newly introduced Class Q shares will not carry 12b-1 service fees, the annual marketing or distribution fees on a mutual fund along with a low Transfer Agency Fee.

This move by Prudential investments comes on the back of increased transparency in fund fees as required by the government.

Certain plans such as 401(k) and 403(b), Keoghs, Profit Sharing Pension and Simple IRA will have the choice to convert their current holdings into Class Q share.

Estimate Revision

Over the last 30 days, the stock of Prudential Financial has experienced upgrades from four analysts out of seventeen covering the stock and over the past seven days the stock has seen one upward revision. However, none of the analyst showed pessimism on the stock as is evident by the absence of any downward estimate revision ahead of the fourth quarter earnings release.

The Zacks Consensus estimates fourth quarter and year-end earnings of $1.43 and $5.92 per share, respectively.  

With respect to earnings surprises, the stock has been almost steady over the last four quarters, with three positive surprises. The average remained positive at 18.42%. This implies that Prudential has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.42% over that period.

Prudential Financial, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a leading financial services provider offering a variety of products and services including life insurance, pension and retirement-related services, asset management, and securities brokerage. The company operates in more than 30 countries through three main business segments: insurance, investment, and international insurance and investments