Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut Principal Financial Group’s price target from $115 to $113 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 4.84% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but centers on a “Hold” consensus, with three Buy, six Hold, and three Sell ratings and an average price target of $108.83.
• Principal Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, beating expectations of $2.33, although revenue of $3.91 billion fell short of the $4.11 billion consensus estimate.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $115.00 to $113.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential upside of 4.84% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $117.00 to $115.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.83.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

PFG stock traded up $0.54 on Monday, reaching $107.78. 102,116 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,458,756. The company has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $121.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.85.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released 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. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5,733.3% during the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gould Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $37,000. 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.

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