Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Equal Weight” Rating

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $91.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 4.06% from the stock’s previous close.

PFG has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.89.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $94.85 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $97.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.56 and its 200-day moving average is $85.55. The company has a market capitalization of $20.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.03). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Principal Financial Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.010-9.260 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $697,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $273,276,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,348,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244,668 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,800,000 after buying an additional 776,997 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,791,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,213,000 after buying an additional 654,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.