Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $105.17 and recently changing hands around $105.38.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $98.10, even after recent mixed target changes and downgrades.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates and raised its dividend to $0.82 per share, while insiders sold shares in recent months and institutions continue to hold the majority of the stock.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $105.17 and last traded at $105.3820, with a volume of 283134 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.66 and a 200 day moving average of $92.65.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 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, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 46.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Principal Financial Group

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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