Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.64.

Several research firms have commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 143.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 152.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $82.16 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $81.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group has a twelve month low of $65.17 and a twelve month high of $86.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.