JP Morgan sees relief for Prudential after half-year results reaffirm targets

What Brokers Say Finance Written by: Ian Lyall 12:00 Fri 28 Aug 2026 --> Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Prudential PLC ( LSE:PRU ) View Price & Profile JP Morgan sees relief for Prudential after half-year results reaffirm targets Published: 12:00 28 Aug 2026 BST JP Morgan expects investors to react positively to Prudential PLC (LSE:PRU) half-year results, after the insurer reaffirmed its full-year growth targets despite a slower first-half performance. The bank, whose analyst Farooq Hanif rates the insurer overweight with a price target of 1,480 pence, said new business profit rose 8% at constant exchange rates in the first half of 2026. That figure was in line with market consensus, though below the double-digit new business profit growth Prudential expects for the full financial year. New business profit fell in Hong Kong during the period, which JP Morgan attributed to an unusually strong comparator in the first half of 2025. The bank expects double-digit new business profit growth in Hong Kong for the financial year as the high comparator eases from September onwards. On 27 August, in its H1 results, Prudential reiterated its targets for double-digit growth in new business profit, operating free surplus and adjusted earnings per share for the 2026 financial year, along with double-digit growth in dividend per share. Mainland China is proving more challenging, with margin compression and tough comparators expected to leave new business profit flat for the year. JPM said stronger growth in Hong Kong, Malaysia and other markets should offset the weakness in mainland China. Prudential is increasing its share buyback programme for the financial year by 300 million US dollars, taking the total to 1.5 billion US dollars. JPM said cash flow also looked stronger than consensus forecasts, with positive expense variances beginning to emerge. Continue reading