Earnings Preview: Prudential's Revenue Expected to Fall from Previous Quarter

Prudential Financial PRU releases its next round of earnings this Wednesday, August 3, 2011. Here's Benzinga's essential guide to Prudential Financial's second quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Wall Street expects a EPS of $1.55 per share and revenues of $9.62 billion. Investors will be keen to see how this quarter's numbers stack up against the year-ago quarter's positive EPS of $1.51 per share on revenues of $8.74 billion. We'll have to wait for Wednesday to see if Prudential Financial has accomplished the estimated 2.6% rise in EPS and 10.1% increase in revenues on a year-over-year basis.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance:

As of July 28, 2011, Prudential Financial's current share price was $58.36. Shares are down 0.6% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 10.4%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Prudential Financial is a Moderate Buy. The strength of this rating has crept upwards over the past three months.

Competitors:

Wondering how Prudential Financial compares to rivals in the same sector? Here are a few of the company's peers.

• Conseco CNO: Hold with a $0.20 recent quarter EPS
• Delphi Financial Group DFG: Hold with a $0.86 recent quarter EPS
• AFLAC Incorporated (AFL): Moderate Buy with a $1.56 recent quarter EPS
• ING Groep N.V (ING): Moderate Buy with a $0.58 recent quarter EPS

Prudential Financial is in the insurance-multiline industry, which has experienced price/earnings growth of 0.8%.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Prudential Financial offers a wide range of financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management and real estate services.

Take Action:

Now that you have reviewed all the numbers, be ready to move if the upcoming Prudential Financial earnings report has any surprises. Also, come back to Benzinga after the announcement for a full recap and a guide to your next steps.

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