Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock Price Target Cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Principal Financial Group’s price target from $117 to $115 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying roughly 7.1% upside from the stock’s $107.40 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans neutral: MarketBeat reports an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.83, based on three Buy, six Hold, and three Sell ratings.
• Principal Financial Group beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.50 in EPS versus the $2.33 consensus, although revenue of $3.91 billion came in below the expected $4.11 billion.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $117.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.08% from the stock's current price.

PFG has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.83.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.2%

PFG stock traded down $2.37 on Friday, hitting $107.40. 459,494 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,462,363. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $113.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.71. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $121.18. The stock has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.During the same period last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,157,181,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $741,960,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $164,848,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $132,735,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $124,372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

About Principal Financial Group

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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