Earnings Preview: Prudential

Prudential (PRU) is expected to report Q3 earnings after market close Wednesday, October 29, with a conference call scheduled for Thursday, October 30 at 11:00 am.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of 94c on revenue of $6.72B. The consensus range for EPS is 65c to $1.90, while the consensus range for revenue is $6.53B to $6.99B, according to First Call. Prudential recently announced that the Q3 operating income for its financial services business was 67c to 70c per share.

The company also announced that it was suspending all its share repurchases, but added that it has enough capital to meet its liquidity needs and maintain its AA credit ratings. However, investors may have some reasons to be worried about Prudential's results since a number of major insurance companies have already reported disappointing Q3 results. Progressive (PGR), Travelers (TRV), and Allstate (ALL) have announced Q3 earnings that fell well below consensus estimates.

Analyst Views

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the U.S. Treasury was considering buying stakes in major insurance companies such as Prudential, but Barclays and Citigroup both expressed skepticism that the government would take this step. On a positive note, Goldman recently upgraded Prudential to Neutral from Sell.