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

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.08.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday. Barclays lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock worth $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,021,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,008 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after acquiring an additional 627,865 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $47,986,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.6%

Principal Financial Group stock traded down $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.68. The company had a trading volume of 566,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,073. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.57 and a 200 day moving average of $79.78. The stock has a market cap of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

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.