Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Overweight Rating

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $92.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $95.00.

PFG has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler raised Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.42.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $78.30 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $72.21 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.22. The company has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.00, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -324.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 3,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,534,000 after buying an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 231,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,867,000 after acquiring an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. 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.