Prana Capital Management LP Acquires 51,505 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Prana Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 95.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 105,399 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,505 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $8,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $771,000. Columbus Macro LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 25,653 shares of the company's stock worth $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 8,169 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 22,469 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 12,933 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,064.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 148,299 shares of the company's stock worth $11,480,000 after acquiring an additional 141,447 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE PFG traded up $0.13 on Friday, reaching $81.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,036,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,142. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day moving average is $78.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.09.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.54.

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.