Prudential Financial, Inc.’s (NYSE:PRU) second-quarter 2017 operating income of $2.09 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.70 by 22.6%. Earnings also improved about 13.6% year over year.
Including the impact of one-time items, net income was $1.12 per share, plunging 45% year over year.
Prudential Financial, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Prudential Financial, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Prudential Financial, Inc. Quote
Behind the Headlines
Total revenue climbed 10.2% year over year to $13.0 billion on the back of 25% growth in premiums, 10% increase in net investment income and a 4 % rise in asset management fees, commissions and other income.
Total benefits and expenses of $11.8 billion increased 9.3% year over year in the quarter. This rise in expenses is mainly attributable to higher insurance and annuity benefits, interest credited to policyholders’ account balances, amortization of acquisition costs and general and administrative expenses.
As of Jun 30, 2017, Prudential Financial’s assets under management increased 2.8% to $1.334 trillion from $1.264 trillion as of Dec 31, 2016. Adjusted book value, a measure of the company’s net worth, increased 7% to $80.62 per share as of Jun 30, 2017, up 5.3% year over year.
Operating Return on Average Equity was 10.5% versus 9.8% in the year ago quarter.
Debt balance totaled $19.4 billion as of Jun 30, 2017, down from $19.7 billion as of Jun 30, 2016
Quarterly Segment Update
U.S. Retirement Solutions and Investment Management reported adjusted operating income of $1.138 billion, up 30.8% year over year. The upside was driven by higher contribution from Individual Annuities, Retirement and Asset Management businesses.
U.S. Individual Life and Group Insurance incurred adjusted operating loss of $421 million, wider than $201 million incurred in the prior-year quarter, attributable to higher losses at Individual Life.
International Insurance reported adjusted operating income of $823 million, up 2.5% year over year. This improvement was due to higher contribution from Life Planner operations.
Corporate and Other Operations reported adjusted operating loss of $312 million, narrower than a loss of $415 million in the year-ago quarter.
Zacks Rank
Currently, Prudential Financial holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other Insurers
Among other players from the insurance industry that have reported their second-quarter earnings so far, both Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) and Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) beat their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate, while The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) missed the same.
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