Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target to $86.00

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price target cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $88.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and increased their price target for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of PFG opened at $79.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.12. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $66.21 and a one year high of $88.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 54.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $253,990,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% during the fourth quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,964,000 after buying an additional 1,076,964 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,313,000 after buying an additional 554,606 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,290,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 282.0% in the 1st quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 308,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,633,000 after acquiring an additional 227,608 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.