Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $106.00 to $107.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Principal Financial Group traded as high as $115.71 and last traded at $115.13, with a volume of 1161501 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.70.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,473,000. LBP AM SA bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $10,400,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,219.5% during the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 51,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,516,000 after buying an additional 47,316 shares during the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,650,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,639,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,603,000 after acquiring an additional 23,686 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.1%

The firm has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $109.61 and a 200-day moving average of $99.57.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.53 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 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.