J.P. Morgan Reiterates Overweight on Prudential Financial (PRU)

J.P. Morgan is out with its report today on Prudential Financial PRU, reiterating Overweight after Q4 10 results were announced. In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan writes, "PRU reported 4Q10 operating EPS of $1.78, above our $1.46 estimate and consensus of $1.48. Ex. unusual items, PRU earned $1.46, matching our estimate. Comparisons to consensus are not meaningful as some analysts included DAC releases in their numbers. We reiterate our Overweight rating. We expect strong business trends and improving returns to drive outperformance. Our model projects PRU's ROE to expand from about 10% (ex. unusuals) in 2010 to 10.8% in 2011 and 12.1% in 2012.The stock currently trades at 1.1x book value (ex. AOCI), in line with the group. We expect the multiple to expand above the group level as PRU's ROE improves." J.P. Morgan has a $72 PT on PRU. Shares of J.P. Morgan closed yesterday at $63.13, down 1.37% from Tuesday's close.