07:55 AM EDT, 05/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We keep our 12-month target price of $115, valuing PRU shares at 8.3x our '25 operating EPS estimate of $13.90 and 8.9x our '24 EPS estimate of $12.87 (cut today by $0.33), versus the five-year average forward multiple of 7.8x and a peer average of 8.7x. Q1 operating EPS of $3.12 versus $2.70 lagged our $3.48 EPS estimate, the $3.15 consensus view, as a 45% rise in operating revenues on a 70% surge in insurance premiums, 12% higher investment income, and 8% rise in asset management revenues were offset by 48% higher expenses on a 65% surge in insurance and annuity benefits. The surge in insurance premiums reflects a recovery in the transactional pension risk transfer (PRT) market, as the Retirement Strategies unit posted the strongest PRT Q1 sales in over a decade. We applaud these results, but caution they are not a run rate. We raise our '24 operating revenue growth forecast to a rise of 7% to 12% (from 2% to 5%), but think mixed margin trends remove a catalyst from the shares (currently yielding 4.6%).