Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high at $98.44 (last $97.90), yet Wall Street's consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $93.44—below the current price.
• Principal pays a quarterly dividend of $0.80 ($3.20 annualized) for a 3.3% yield and a payout ratio of 60.72%.
• Recent quarterly EPS was $2.20, the company has a PE of 18.55 and ROE of 16.09%, and sell-side analysts expect about 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $98.44 and last traded at $97.8950, with a volume of 95493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Principal Financial Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.44.

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 cap of $21.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $91.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.53.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,713,260.16. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

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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