Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.75.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Evercore set a $111.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $112.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.70. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $80.00 and a 1-year high of $121.18.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 11.89%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 9.22 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.33%.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,157,181,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,264,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,106,346,000 after acquiring an additional 85,014 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,819,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,721,000 after acquiring an additional 420,319 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,187,000 after acquiring an additional 119,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.4% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,216,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,854,000 after acquiring an additional 244,550 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company that helps individuals and businesses build, protect and manage wealth. Its offerings include retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, investment products, life and disability insurance, and financial wellness solutions. The company also provides institutional investment management and pension-risk transfer services.

Principal serves employers, institutions and individual investors through a range of retirement and workplace benefits solutions.