Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Now Covered by Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an underweight rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PFG. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James raised Principal Financial Group from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of PFG opened at $77.53 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $88.26. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 152.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 373 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.