Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $107.00 to $112.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Principal Financial Group traded as high as $112.48 and last traded at $112.5290, with a volume of 563898 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $110.87.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on PFG. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.40.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFG. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.72 and a 200-day moving average of $96.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.92%.

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.