Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.24 EPS

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

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 3.4 %

Principal Financial Group stock traded down $2.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,833,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,106,820. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.20 and its 200 day moving average is $81.05. The company has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $88.26.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.42.

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.