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

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from ten brokerage firms, with three analysts rating it as a sell and two as a buy.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.78 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.1%.
• Despite the mixed reviews from analysts, Principal Financial Group reported $2.16 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.19.

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.70.

Several equities analysts have commented on PFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,438 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,460,000. Aviva PLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 139,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,798,000 after acquiring an additional 17,536 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 4,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,726 shares of the company's stock worth $3,385,000 after buying an additional 3,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG opened at $76.12 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.