Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $116.96 and well above the previous close of $111.31.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy, seven Hold, and three Sell ratings; the average price target is $106.67, below the recent trading level.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, beating estimates by $0.17, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, implying a 2.8% annual yield.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $116.96 and last traded at $119.2430, with a volume of 15827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective 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 assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.45. The company has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 47.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,157,181,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,219.5% in the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 51,196 shares of the company's stock worth $4,516,000 after acquiring an additional 47,316 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,473,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,277,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,639,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,603,000 after purchasing an additional 23,686 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Principal Financial Group

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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