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Prudential (PRU) Q1 Earnings Beat, Fall Y/Y, Dividend Up (Revised)

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Prudential Financial, Inc.’s (PRU - Free Report) first-quarter 2022 operating net income of $3.17 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.7%. The bottom line decreased 20.6% year over year.

Prudential Financial's results were driven by higher contributions from U.S. Businesses, partially offset by poor performance of Prudential Global Investment Management (PGIM) and International businesses.

Prudential Financial, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Prudential Financial, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Prudential Financial, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Prudential Financial, Inc. Quote

Behind the Headlines

Total revenues of $13.6 billion were down 0.7% year over year due to lower policy charges and fee income, asset management fees, commissions and other income. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by about 3.7%.

Total benefits and expenses of $12.1 billion were up 3.2% year over year for the quarter. This increase in expenses was mainly attributable to higher insurance and annuity benefits.

Quarterly Segment Update

PGIM reported adjusted operating income of $188 million, which decreased 71% year over year. This decrease reflects a $378 million gain from the sale of an asset management joint venture in Italy in the year-ago quarter. This decrease also reflects lower Other Related Revenues due to a decrease in seed and co-investment income and incentive fees, and higher expenses. It was partially offset by higher asset management fees.


U.S. Businesses’ adjusted operating income was $943 million, up 11.9% from the year-ago quarter. This increase reflects higher net investment spread results, more favorable underwriting results, and lower expenses. It was partially offset by lower net fee income.

Assurance IQ incurred adjusted operating loss of $37 million, narrower than a loss of $39 million in the year-ago quarter. This reflects a decrease in expenses. Revenues in the first quarter were reduced by a $15 million adjustment, reflecting updated persistency experience and assumptions.

International Businesses delivered adjusted operating income of $801 million, down 8% from the year-earlier period. This decrease reflects lower net investment spread results, less favorable underwriting results, and lower earnings from joint venture investments, partially offset by business growth.


Corporate and Other Operations incurred adjusted operating loss of $366 million, wider than $322 million loss a year ago. The higher loss reflects higher expenses and lower net investment income. It was partially offset by higher income from pension and other employee benefit plans and lower interest expense.

Share Repurchase Update

Prudential returned capital worth $837 million in the quarter, including $375 million of share repurchases and $462 million of dividends.

Prudential increased dividend by 4% in the first quarter, marking the 14th consecutive annual dividend increase.

Financial Update

Cash and cash equivalents of $14.1 billion at quarter-end increased 9.3% from the 2021-end level.

Debt balance totaled $20.2 billion as of Mar 31, 2022, up 4.6% from the 2021-end level.

As of Mar 31, 2022, Prudential’s assets under management decreased 2.6% year over year to $1.620 trillion.

Adjusted book value per common share — a measure of the company’s net worth — came in at $107.16 as of Mar 31, 2022, up 6.6% year over year.

Operating return on average equity was 11.8% for the first quarter, contracting 470 basis points year over year.

Zacks Rank

Prudential currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Some Other Multi-line Insurers

Of the insurance industry players that have reported first-quarter results so far, EverQuote, Inc. (EVER - Free Report) , Assurant, Inc. (AIZ - Free Report) and American International Group, Inc. (AIG - Free Report) beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.

EverQuote incurred a net loss of 19 cents per share in first-quarter 2022, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 26 cents. The bottom line was however wider than the year-ago quarter’s loss of 13 cents per share.

Revenues in the Automotive insurance vertical were $87.7 million, up 4% year over year. Also, revenues in the Other insurance vertical totaled $23 million, which grew 19% year over year. EverQuote’s Variable Marketing Margin expanded 9% year over year in the quarter under review to $34.3 million.

Assurant reported first-quarter 2022 net operating income of $3.75 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 31%. The bottom line increased 51.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Total revenues increased 4.6% year over year to $2.5 billion due to higher net earned premiums, fees and other income and net investment income. The top line however missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. Net investment income was up 13.1% year over year to $86.3 million.

American International posted first-quarter 2022 adjusted operating earnings of $1.30 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.8%. AIG’s bottom line climbed 23.8% year over year.

Total operating revenues of AIG amounted to $11 billion, which improved 3.5% year over year in the first quarter on the back of higher premiums. However, the top line missed the consensus mark by 1.6%. Total net investment income of $3.2 billion tumbled 11% year over year in the quarter under review.

(We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued on May 4, 2022, should no longer be relied upon.)

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