Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.24 EPS

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24), Briefing.com reports. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG traded down $2.89 on Friday, reaching $81.53. 1,833,411 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,106,820. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.05. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $66.21 and a fifty-two week high of $88.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. 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, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.42.

About Principal Financial Group

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.