Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street is cautious on Principal Financial Group, with 11 brokerages assigning an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 1-year price target of $98.10. Analyst views are mixed, with three buys, seven holds, and one sell.
• The company posted a Q1 earnings beat, reporting EPS of $2.07 versus the $2.01 estimate, though revenue of $3.53 billion came in below expectations. Analysts still expect full-year EPS of 9.36.
• Principal Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, up from $0.80, for a 3.2% annualized yield. The company also noted recent insider selling and high institutional ownership at 75.08%.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.10.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $102.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $105.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.69 and a 200 day moving average of $92.27.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $223,000. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.2% during the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 48,995 shares of the company's stock worth $4,415,000 after acquiring an additional 3,716 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,819,452 shares of the company's stock worth $794,721,000 after acquiring an additional 420,319 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $225,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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