Prudential Financial (PRU) Tops Q4 EPS by 36c

Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) reported Q4 EPS of $2.93, $0.36 better than the analyst estimate of $2.57.

• Fourth quarter 2020 net income attributable to Prudential Financial, Inc. of $819 million or $2.03 per Common share versus $1.128 billion or $2.76 per share for the year-ago quarter.
• Fourth quarter 2020 after-tax adjusted operating income of $1.183 billion or $2.93 per Common share versus $915 million or $2.24 per share for the year-ago quarter.
• Net loss attributable to Prudential Financial, Inc. of $374 million or $1.00 per Common share for 2020 versus net income of $4.186 billion or $10.11 per share for 2019.
• After-tax adjusted operating income of $4.111 billion or $10.21 per Common share for 2020 versus $4.656 billion or $11.24 per share for 2019.
• Book value per Common share of $167.81 versus $155.88 per share for the year-ago; adjusted book value per Common share of $94.79 versus $101.04 per share for the year-ago.
• Parent company highly liquid assets of $5.6 billion versus $4.1 billion for the year-ago.
• Assets under management amounted to $1.721 trillion versus $1.551 trillion for the year-ago.
• The Company’s Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $1.5 billion of its outstanding Common Stock during the period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. In addition, the Company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share of Common stock, payable on March 11, 2021, to shareholders of record as of February 16, 2021, representing an increase of 4.5% over the prior year dividend level and a 4.9% annualized yield on adjusted book value.

Charles Lowrey, Chairman and CEO, commented on results:

“As we reflect on the extraordinary events of 2020 and the ongoing global pandemic, we thank our employees for their continued dedication to fulfilling our company’s purpose of making lives better by solving the financial challenges of our changing world.

During the fourth quarter, we continued to successfully execute against our 2020 priorities, paving the path for the acceleration of our strategy in 2021 and beyond.

Looking ahead, we will continue our transformation by executing on our $750 million cost savings plan and by taking additional steps to increase our growth potential and reduce our market sensitivity. Over the next three years we plan to reallocate between $5 billion and $10 billion of capital with the intention of doubling the earnings contribution of our higher growth businesses and halving Individual Annuities.

Backed by the strength of our rock solid balance sheet, we also plan to return approximately $10 billion of capital to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases during this time period. This includes the resumption of share repurchases in the first quarter of 2021, as part of our $1.5 billion authorization for the year.

These changes will position Prudential to make a more meaningful difference in the financial lives of more people around the world, and to deliver attractive returns to our shareholders.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Prudential Financial (PRU) click here.

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