Prudential (#PRU) – to commence a share buyback programme of up to $1.2bn
- 2026-01-06 07:26:59
UK 09:23 Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Just over two months ago I observed that the only global financial sector company my pension fund holds was Prudential (PRU). And even the sub 1000p share price back then has not performed particularly well since. At a certain level I should not be particularly surprised as almost all financial stocks have a range of real economy issues but, as I noted last time, today’s Pru is focused on Asia and parts of the emerging markets. And as more people get a bit richer, boring stuff such as insurance and pensions become more relevant.
I am glad to see Prudential (PRU) shares back above ten quid as I write this morning after the publication of the company’s first half numbers. I cannot believe how excited the average investor is about financial sector shares but, if you are going to invest into the sector, then I reckon it is smarter to look at the developing markets and/or the insurance space. Both are always analytically tricky, but such is life (and the fun of the investment world).
I reckon the average institutional investment board is in a bit of panic mode at the moment. Most were not silly enough to put their money into California’s specialist banks, but what they are not used to is a bit of normal volatility. The majority of institutional investors can handle geopolitical crises or an iffy corporate earnings season or even a standard recession, but when you get stuff happening in multiple different directions simultaneously too many react by doing nothing (other than moaning that this is really different from the 2010s). Spot the underlying reality – the aberration was the 2010s!
Hello Share Gatherers. Companies whose profits are rising are fairly rare in these dangerous days. But Prudential (PRU) saw an improvement of 8% in the first six months of the year. The adjusted operating profit came in at $1.7 billion. Most of that comes by way of a boom in life insurance and asset management.
Back in August last year I observed that “when the FTSE 100 dumps next, have a look at Prudential (PRU)”. So given that markets have been volatile year-to-date and the insurance giant has in the last week published its full year 2021 results, how am I thinking about the stock today?
Back in March here I wrote about Prudential (PRU) which might have been founded in London in May 1848, but today (post the spin-off of M&G (MNG)) is all about its US and Asian insurance and related business focus. And give it another few months its US business Jackson will be spun off following a shareholder vote this month, with investors getting one share in the company for every 40 Pru shares they hold today.
Just over a year ago today, I wrote here about how investment industry giant Prudential (PRU) was ‘doing everything right in these troubled times’. So no surprise to see the shares doubling over the last year although the shares are not back to their 2018 highs. Is there still scope to be excited in a company with a growing focus on Asia, especially after their spinning off of M&G (MNG) in late 2019?
Hello, Share Pickers. You can tell that insurance companies expect to pick up business during the crisis by the proliferation of their ads on tv. During crises people and companies rush to insure themselves and I would not be averse to buying shares in any big insurer at the moment. But one which may perform better than the others, if only because of its good record over decades, is Prudential (PRU)...
Hello Share Rattlers. It seems to this old punter that insurance companies might be the cautious choice in these difficult times. When folks feel insecure they buy more policies and are prepared to pay more for them. And one of the best as far as profits go is Prudential (PRU)...
Naturally any comment written in August here about a longer-term play such as the Prudential (PRU) has not aged well...especially in the last six or so weeks. Amid all the market volatility, policymaker announcements and health crises out there, the Prudential quietly came out with its latest set of numbers.
Back in March I mused about the Prudential (PRU) concluding that it was wise to snaffle 'a few (shares) now and at each new Pound below the current share price (£15 something a share, £14 something a share) is a suitable compromise between opportunity and the short-term perception vagaries towards the insurance space'. Well in the five months or so since then the shares have undertaken a bit of a 'Grand Old Duke of York' moment and gone up the share price hill...and back down again. Such is the insurance space...and the ups and downs of financial markets.
There are always many different shares to write about but I am surprised that i have troubled these pages with my thoughts on the Prudential (PRU). As a self-confessed investment geek typically focused on longer-term themes and trends, there are few corporate names in the FTSE-100 as well set up as the Prudential with its growing exposure to the burgeoning Asian insurance market, a region where the last ten year renewal premium compound growth rate for the company has been a cool 18% and profits have grown even faster.
Hello Share Sneakers. It’s been a while since I commended the Man from the Pru (PRU) to you, but my positive stance has only strengthened since then. I hold a few other British insurers, like RSA (RSA) and Legal and General (LGEN), but not the Prudential. And yet it may be the most undervalued of the three.
Hello, Share Twiggers. Let’s have another look at the Man from the Pru. Prudential (PRU) has just announced that six month operating profits are up by 5%. Not brilliant, but, never mind, an increasing profit usually means a climbing share price.
Hello Share Troopers. I’ve long been a fan of British insurance giants. They are a chance to invest in the fast-moving financial world without too much fear of heavy fines and compensation payments for mis-selling and so on. Though, of course, there is an element of that.
It is hard to see how one could improve on the annual results from the Prudential Corporation (PRU) for last year to 31 December. These included excellent recovery in the US business and continuing growth in South East Asia, with its growing demand for savings products, plus a long term agreement to distribute its branded savings services through Standard and Chartered Bank; an agreement of financial efficiency that looks text book attractive.
Whilst at the once respected tips.com for eight years I contributed to longer investment performance in part by spotting value in Prudential Corporation (PRU) when its shares were priced at 791p in March last year and again at 679 p the following May - after they had fallen 14%. I had in fact first identified the longer term undervaluation of Prudential shares way back in November 2009, when they were a mere 557p. It seems incredible that they now stand at 1190p (a rise of 113%) having peaked at 1270p last August.
