Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02), Briefing.com reports. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PFG traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $74.36. 84,336 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,045. Principal Financial Group has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.98. The company has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50 day moving average is $79.81 and its 200-day moving average is $81.92.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 65.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $65.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.31.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.