Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Given New $114.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Principal Financial Group from $100 to $114, while keeping an equal weight rating. The new target implies only about 1% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: Principal Financial Group has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $104.60, though several firms recently nudged targets higher.
• The stock traded at $112.82 on Thursday, near its 12-month high of $113.86. The company also beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.07 per share versus the expected $2.01.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $114.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.04% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.60.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG traded up $2.08 on Thursday, hitting $112.82. 597,739 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,498,088. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $75.00 and a 12-month high of $113.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.52 and a 200-day moving average of $96.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.8% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,952 shares of the company's stock worth $6,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares in the last quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 150.2% in the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 16,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 9,685 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 19,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,125,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 10.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,585 shares of the company's stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

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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