Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $105.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG stock opened at $109.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.43. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $114.90. The firm has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.