Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 65,915 shares of Principal Financial Group valued at approximately $7.1 million, while institutional investors collectively own 75.08% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $106.67, despite some firms raising targets and Piper Sandler assigning an “overweight” rating.
• Principal Financial Group exceeded quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.50 versus $2.33 expected, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, representing a 3.0% annualized yield.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 65,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,104,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company's stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 96.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.8% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG stock opened at $111.41 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $116.61. The company's 50 day moving average price is $111.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.07. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group NASDAQ: PFG is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm's business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal's product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.

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