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SIGNATURE GRACE C. TORRES
TITLE TREASURER
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<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 269,320,292
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 246,249,802
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 27,335,195
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 1,631,768,341
<NET-ASSETS> (515,570,094)
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 71,434,156
<INTEREST-INCOME> 62,851,621
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 64,823,973
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 69,461,804
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 284,045,768
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 662,447,800
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 1,015,955,372
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> (286,322,458)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> (68,371,058)
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 4,822,813,820
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (4,728,047,555)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 340,731,229
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 1,096,759,350
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 30,662,918
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> (2,141,779)
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 22,440,588
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 64,823,973
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 2,924,413,000
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 17.24
<PER-SHARE-NII> 3.94
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> (1.35)
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 19.83
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 1.63
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000356683
<NAME> PRUDENTIAL EQUITY FUND, INC.
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 003
<NAME> EQUITY FUND (CLASS C)
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> YEAR
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 3,832,300,240
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 5,464,080,888
<RECEIVABLES> 23,085,567
<ASSETS-OTHER> 2,138,164
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 0
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 10,370,858
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 136,000,250
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 0
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 3,683,829,975
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 269,320,292
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 246,249,802
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 27,335,195
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 1,631,768,341
<NET-ASSETS> (515,570,094)
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 71,434,156
<INTEREST-INCOME> 62,851,621
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 64,823,973
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 69,461,804
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 284,045,768
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 662,447,800
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 1,015,955,372
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> (286,322,458)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> (68,371,058)
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 4,822,813,820
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (4,728,047,555)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 340,731,229
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 1,096,759,350
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 30,662,918
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> (2,141,779)
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 22,440,588
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 64,823,973
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 60,434,000
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 17.24
<PER-SHARE-NII> 3.94
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> (1.35)
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 19.83
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 1.63
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000356683
<NAME> PRUDENTIAL EQUITY FUND, INC.
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 004
<NAME> EQUITY FUND (CLASS Z)
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> YEAR
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 3,832,300,240
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 5,464,080,888
<RECEIVABLES> 23,085,567
<ASSETS-OTHER> 2,138,164
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 0
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 10,370,858
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 136,000,250
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 0
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 3,683,829,975
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 269,320,292
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 246,249,802
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 27,335,195
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 1,631,768,341
<NET-ASSETS> (515,570,094)
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 71,434,156
<INTEREST-INCOME> 62,851,621
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 64,823,973
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 69,461,804
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 284,045,768
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 662,447,800
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 1,015,955,372
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> (286,322,458)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> (68,371,058)
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 4,822,813,820
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (4,728,047,555)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 340,731,229
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 1,096,759,350
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 30,662,918
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> (2,141,779)
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 22,440,588
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 64,823,973
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 57,646,000
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 17.26
<PER-SHARE-NII> 4.14
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> (1.53)
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 19.87
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 0.63
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>
For the year ended December 31, 1997
File number 811-3326
SUB - ITEM 77J
Reclassification of Capital Accounts
The Fund accounts and reports for distributions
to shareholders in accordance with the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants'
(AICPA) Statement of Position 93-2:
Determination, Disclosure, and Financial
Statement Presentation of Income, Capital Gain,
and Return of Capital Distributions by
Investment Companies. The effect of applying
this statement was to increase distributed in
excess of net investment income and decrease
accumulated net realized gain on investments and
foreign currencies by $1,051,033. Net realized
gains and net assets were not affected by this
change.
February 13, 1998
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Prudential Equity Fund, Inc.
In planning and performing our audit of the
financial statements of Prudential Equity Fund,
Inc. (the "Fund") for the year ended December
31, 1997, we considered its internal control,
including control activities for safeguarding
securities, in order to determine our auditing
procedures for the purpose of expressing our
opinion on the financial statements and to
comply with the requirements of Form N-SAR, not
to provide assurance on internal control.
The management of the Fund is responsible for
establishing and maintaining internal control.
In fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and
judgments by management are required to assess
the expected benefits and related costs of
control activities. Generally, control
activities that are relevant to an audit pertain
to the entity's objective of preparing financial
statements for external purposes that are fairly
presented in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles. Those control activities
include the safeguarding of assets against
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal
control, errors or irregularities may occur and
not be detected. Also, projection of any
evaluation of internal control to future periods
is subject to the risk that it may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions or
that the effectiveness of the design and
operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of internal control would not
necessarily disclose all matters in internal
control that might be material weaknesses under
standards established by the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants. A material
weakness is a condition in which the design or
operation of any specific internal control
component does not reduce to a relatively low
level the risk that errors or irregularities in
amounts that would be material in relation to
the financial statements being audited may occur
and not be detected within a timely period by
employees in the normal course of performing
their assigned functions. However, we noted no
matters involving internal control, including
control activities for safeguarding securities,
that we consider to be material weaknesses as
defined above as of December 31, 1997.
This report is intended solely for the
information and use of management and the Board
of Directors of the Fund and the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
PRICE WATERHOUSE LLP
