Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $104.76 and ending the session up about 0.7% at $104.42.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed, but several firms raised price targets; the consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $98.10, below the current share price.
• The company posted quarterly EPS of $2.07, beating estimates, and it also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, implying a 3.1% annual yield.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $104.76 and last traded at $104.42, with a volume of 119474 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.7%

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 company has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.53.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 77,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business'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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 in the last three months. 1.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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