This FTSE 100 stock is one of the worst performers in my Stocks and Shares ISA. What should I do with it?

My Shares and Shares ISA has been doing very well lately. With stocks like Nvidia, Amazonagain Uber in my portfolio, returns in 2024 were strong.

However, I ‘have’ other ‘dogs’ in my portfolio. One is FTSE 100 insurance Prudential (LSE: PRU).

Currently, I am down about 48% in this stock. So, what’s the best move now?

Wrong insurance stock

I have owned this stock for a few years now. And I bought several shares during that time.

My investment thesis here has always been very simple. Since the company is focused on high-growth markets across Asia and Africa, I thought it would outperform other insurance stocks by a country mile.

Sadly, this thesis did not play out. In fact, it went backwards surprisingly.

Given China’s economic woes, stocks have fallen. The irony of this is that, in recent years, many other insurance stocks have risen.

Shares in Warren Buffett’s stock Chubbfor example, they have almost doubled in the last five years. Clearly I was in the wrong situation.

My options now

The good news is that I have a long-term investment perspective. So, that gives me a few options.

Another is to simply do nothing. If stocks were to bounce back, this could pay off.

The alternative is to buy a few shares and ‘minimize’ my expenses. This can improve my return if the share price will increase.

The third option is to cut my losses, sell, and reinvest the capital in another stock. This would be worth considering. After all, there are plenty of stocks in the market that are doing well today. And there is no obligation to recover the loss of price with the original stock.

What I will do

After looking at both the company’s latest news and the stock price, I’ve decided to hold on to my shares for now. And I may buy a few more in the near future (I’m still deciding if I want to increase my holdings).

I continue to believe that the company’s outlook, in the long run, is attractive. The fact that the company recently increased its interim dividend by 9% suggests that Prudential management is optimistic about the future again.

Meanwhile, with shares trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 8.6, I think there’s fair value on offer today. It seems that management also agrees with this – recently the company has been buying back its own shares.

Of course, stocks may not go up again anytime soon. Much will depend on China, which is really struggling now (and needs more government encouragement).

Another issue is that Prudential’s management set high goals. Between 2022 and 2027, it aims for annualized growth in new business profits of 15% to 20%. Given China’s problems, it may not be able to achieve these in the coming years. This may lead to further weakness in share prices.

I really believe in the long-term growth story here, though. So, I will keep the stock in my portfolio and be patient.