Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Principal Financial Group, with seven holds, three buys and three sells among 13 brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $109.08, below the stock’s reported $111.96 opening price.
• Principal Financial Group exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $2.50 per share versus the $2.33 consensus, though revenue of $3.91 billion fell short of the $4.11 billion estimate.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, or $3.36 annually, representing an approximately 3.0% yield; institutional investors own 75.08% of the stock.

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.08.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,451 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $111.96 on Monday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $113.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.05. 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 has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $121.18. The firm has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.86.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 was Thursday, September 3rd. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 47.73%.

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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