Short Interest in Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) Rises By 70.2%

Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 252,600 shares, a growth of 70.2% from the March 31st total of 148,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 894,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PUK. Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential by 42.1% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,328,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,119,000 after acquiring an additional 393,374 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,011,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,159,000 after acquiring an additional 274,674 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Prudential in the fourth quarter valued at $5,108,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Prudential in the third quarter valued at $4,740,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential by 31.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 729,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,989,000 after acquiring an additional 174,838 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Stock Performance

Shares of PUK stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.80. 1,030,477 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 898,402. Prudential has a fifty-two week low of $17.12 and a fifty-two week high of $30.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.03 and a quick ratio of 0.03.

Prudential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2842 per share. This is a boost from Prudential’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st.

Prudential Company Profile

Prudential plc, through its subsidiaries, provides life and health insurance, and asset management solutions to individuals in Asia and Africa. The company was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.