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

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group has an average consensus rating of "Reduce" from ten brokerages, with three recommending a sell, five a hold, and two a buy.
• The company reported a earnings per share of $2.16 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.97.
• Principal Financial Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.78 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.8%.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.90.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $201,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 47.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 57,070 shares of the company's stock worth $4,614,000 after buying an additional 18,296 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,603 shares of the company's stock worth $2,509,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.7% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,415 shares of the company's stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 112.0% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 15,581 shares of the company's stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 8,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $81.84 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $79.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.75.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 62.78%.

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.

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