Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded down $1.94 on Friday, hitting $79.12. 1,424,758 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,130,972. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $65.17 and a 12-month high of $86.79. The company has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 112.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.