Prudential Financial Q4 Earnings & Revenues Miss, Dividend Raised

Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted operating income of $2.96 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.7%. However, the bottom line rose 16.5% year over year.See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.Total revenues of $13 billion increased 1% year over year. The increase in revenues was due to higher policy charges, fee income and net investment income. However, it missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8%.Prudential Financial's fourth-quarter results reflect lower expenses, higher asset management fees, net inflows and higher net investment spread results, partially offset by soft performance at the U.S. Businesses.Prudential Financial, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Prudential Financial, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Prudential Financial, Inc. QuoteOperational UpdateTotal benefits and expenses amounted to $11.6 billion, which decreased 0.03% year over year in the fourth quarter due to lower insurance and annuity benefits. The decrease was partially offset by higher interest credited to policyholders' account balances, interest expense, amortization of acquisition costs and general and administrative expenses. The figure was lower than our estimate of $13.2 billion.Quarterly Segment UpdatePrudential Global Investment Management’s (PGIM) adjusted operating income of $259 million in the reported quarter increased 50.6% year over year. This increase primarily reflects higher asset management fees and other related revenues, which were driven by higher incentive fees. It was partially offset by higher expenses. The figure was higher than our estimate of $236.2 million.PGIM’s assets under management of $1.375 trillion increased 6% year over year. The increase was driven by net inflows, equity market appreciation and strong investment performance. The U.S. Businesses delivered an adjusted operating income of $860 million, which decreased 10.7% year over year. This decrease primarily reflects higher expenses, related to one-time transaction impacts associated with closing the Guaranteed Universal Life reinsurance transaction and the consolidation of captive financing arrangements, lower net fee income, and less favorable underwriting results. It was partially offset by higher net investment spread results. The figure was lower than our estimate of $1.1 billion.International Businesses’ adjusted operating income decreased 0.8% year over year to $742 million in the fourth quarter. This decrease primarily reflects less favorable underwriting results and higher expenses. It was partially offset by higher net investment spread results. The figure was higher than our estimate of $735.8 million.Corporate and Other incurred an adjusted operating loss of $490 million, narrower than a loss of $653 million reported a year ago. This lower loss primarily reflects lower expenses, driven by the absence of a restructuring charge in the prior year.Capital DeploymentPrudential Financial managed to return capital of $720 million to its shareholders in the form of share repurchases worth $250 million and dividends worth $470 million in the fourth quarter.PRU's board has authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion of outstanding shares during the period from Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2025. The board of directors authorized a 4% increase in the quarterly cash dividend of $1.35 per share. The dividend will be paid out on March 13 to shareholders of record at the close of business as of Feb. 18, 2025. This marks the 17th consecutive year of dividend increase.Financial UpdatePRU exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $18.5 billion, which decreased 4.7% from 2023-end.Total debt balance of $20.1 billion increased 3.2% from 2023-end.As of Dec. 31, 2024, Prudential Financial’s assets under management and administration increased 3.3% year over year to $1.69 trillion.Adjusted book value per common share, a measure of the company’s net worth, was $95.82, which decreased 0.8% year over year.Operating return on average equity was 12.2% in the fourth quarter, which improved 150 basis points year over year.Full-Year UpdateFor 2024, the adjusted operating income of Prudential Fianancial was $12.62 per share. The bottom line increased 6% from the 2023 figure. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.7%. Revenues for the year totaled $68 billion, which increased 35% from the 2023 level. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6%.Zacks RankPrudential Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performance of Other Multi-Line InsurersThe Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. HIG reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted operating earnings of $2.94 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.1%. However, the bottom line decreased 3.9% year over year. HIG's operating revenues amounted to $4.8 billion, which improved 11.1% year over year in the quarter under review. The top line beat the consensus mark by a whisker. Earned premiums of Hartford Financial rose 6.9% year over year to $5.8 billion in the fourth quarter but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%. The metric was driven by a 9.6% and 0.6% year-over-year rise in P&C and Group Benefits’ earned premiums, respectively.Pre-tax net investment income of $714 million grew 9.3% year over year and beat the consensus mark by 5.5%. Net investment income witnessed year-over-year growth in both the Property and Casualty and Group Benefits segments. Total benefits, losses and expenses increased 6.5% year over year to $5.8 billion in the quarter under review.Everest Group, Ltd. EG reported fourth-quarter 2024 operating loss of $18.39 per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $16.65. EG had reported an operating income of $25.18 per share in the year-ago quarter. Everest Group’s total operating revenues of nearly $4.64 billion increased 26.7% year over year on higher premiums earned and net investment income. The top line beat the consensus mark by 4.4%. Gross written premiums improved 8% year over year to $4.7 billion. Our estimate was $5.1 billion.Net investment income was $473 million, which increased 15.1% year over year. The upside was driven by a larger asset base as well as strong core fixed income investment returns. Our estimate was $419.5 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $496 million. Total claims and expenses surged 59% to $5.4 billion.MGIC Investment Corporation MTG reported fourth-quarter 2024 operating net income per share of 72 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.8%. Moreover, the bottom line increased 10.2% year over year. MGIC Investment recorded total operating revenues of $303.1 million, which increased 6.4% year over year. The top line however missed the consensus mark by 1.1%. Insurance in force increased 0.6% from the prior-year quarter to $295.4 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was $294 billion. Our estimate was $293.6 billion.The insurer witnessed a 4.4% increase in primary delinquency to 26,791 loans. Net premiums written increased 5.9% year over year to $232.1 million. The figure was higher than our estimate of $231.1 million. Net investment income increased 6.1% year over year to $61.3 million. Our estimate was $66.9 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $65 million. Persistency — the percentage of insurance remaining in force from one year prior — was 84.8% as of Dec. 30, 2024, down from 86.1% in the year-ago quarter.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG): Free Stock Analysis Report MGIC Investment Corporation (MTG): Free Stock Analysis Report Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU): Free Stock Analysis Report Everest Group, Ltd. (EG): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks