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Prudential Financial, Inc.'s PRU major earnings driver is net investment income, given the company’s large general-account investment portfolio, particularly fixed-income securities.

The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75-4% on Sept. 16, 2026, citing still-elevated inflation. For Prudential Financial, the effect is mixed, but the near-term impact is generally tied to higher investment income and spreads versus higher crediting costs and potential asset-value pressure.

PRU has a large general-account investment portfolio, so higher rates can boost investment income as cash flows and maturities are reinvested at higher yields. This is particularly relevant to its Retirement and other spread businesses. In second-quarter 2026, PRU's general-account fixed-maturity portfolio generated a 4.67% investment yield, up from 4.39% a year earlier. Fixed-maturity investment income rose to $3.79 billion from $3.41 billion.

A further rise in rates can therefore help new-money yields and reinvestment income, although the benefit is gradual because much of PRU's portfolio is invested for the long term.

Higher interest rates can make fixed annuities more attractive to customers seeking guaranteed yield. This could support sales and improve economics on newly issued business because PRU can price new products using higher prevailing investment yields.

The negative side is that higher Treasury yields generally reduce the market value of existing fixed-income securities. PRU explicitly notes that rising rates can create earnings and capital volatility, although its liability-management and hedging programs are designed to mitigate this exposure.

Higher interest rates could support PRU's investment income and annuity economics, although rising policyholder crediting costs and pressure on fixed-income assets may temper the benefit.

What About Other Insurers?

Selective Insurance Group, Inc.’s SIGI investment income is likely to remain an important earnings contributor, although its growth could moderate as interest-rate and reinvestment tailwinds normalize. Selective Insurance Group continues to benefit from elevated investment income, supported by higher yields and growth in invested assets. Net investment income strengthens SIGI's earnings and ROE by monetizing its large investment portfolio, while providing an important cushion against fluctuations in underwriting results.

The Travelers Companies, Inc.’s TRV net investment income is a material contributor to the company’s results of operations, consistently providing a reliable source of earnings that complements its underwriting activities. Net investment income acts as a second earnings engine for this property and casualty insurer after underwriting profit. Thus, even if underwriting profit weakens because of higher catastrophe losses, solid net investment income can help offset earnings pressure.

PRU’s Price Performance

Shares of PRU have gained 13.8% over the past year, outperforming the industry’s growth of 7%.

PRU’s Undervaluation

The stock is undervalued compared with its industry. Its forward price-to-book value of 1.28X is lower than the industry average of 2.77X. It carries a Value Score of A.

Estimate Movement for PRU

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PRU’s third-quarter and fourth-quarter 2026 EPS has moved up 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, over the past 30 days. The same for the full-year 2026 and 2027 EPS has moved up 2.3% and 0.9%, respectively, in the past 30 days.

The consensus estimate for PRU’s 2026 and 2027 EPS and revenues indicates a year-over-year increase.

PRU stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).