Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group shares hit a new 52-week high of $115.71 after JPMorgan raised its price target from $106 to $107, though it maintained a neutral rating. The stock closed at $115.13, up 1.3%.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy, seven Hold and three Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $105.83.
• Principal reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, beating estimates of $2.33, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share from $0.82, implying a 2.9% yield.

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $106.00 to $107.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Principal Financial Group traded as high as $115.71 and last traded at $115.13, with a volume of 1161501 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.70.

PFG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup lowered Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company's stock worth $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,187,000 after acquiring an additional 119,327 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,276,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,079,857 shares of the company's stock worth $271,674,000 after purchasing an additional 55,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50-day moving average price is $109.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 46.59%.

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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