Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) had its price target cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $117.00 to $115.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.83.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $107.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.86. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $121.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.5% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 378,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,846,000 after acquiring an additional 50,877 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,264,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,106,346,000 after acquiring an additional 85,014 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $420,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1879, the company provides retirement, investment, insurance and financial wellness solutions to individuals, businesses and institutional clients.

Its offerings include employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, pension and income solutions, group benefits, life insurance and specialty benefits. Through its investment management operations, Principal also provides asset management and related services to retirement plans, institutions and individual investors.

Principal Financial Group serves customers in the United States and selected international markets, including countries in Latin America and Asia.