Steele Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. RIA Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% in the fourth quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,964 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,836,000 after acquiring an additional 575,646 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,305,000 after purchasing an additional 456,455 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,290,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth $22,726,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.16. The company had a trading volume of 124,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,121,655. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.62. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.17 and a fifty-two week high of $86.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PFG. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.09.

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.