Principal Financial Group, Inc. Expected to Earn FY2025 Earnings of $8.29 Per Share (NYSE:PFG)

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note issued on Thursday, May 16th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will earn $8.29 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.26. The consensus estimate for Principal Financial Group's current full-year earnings is $7.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Principal Financial Group's FY2026 earnings at $9.32 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.30.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PFG traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $85.13. 601,070 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,099,952. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $82.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.73. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $86.79. The company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $253,990,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% during the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company's stock worth $84,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,964 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company's stock worth $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company's stock worth $45,313,000 after purchasing an additional 554,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company's stock worth $87,305,000 after purchasing an additional 456,455 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 52.67%.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.