Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target Raised to $87.00 at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.56% based on the current stock price.
• Principal Financial Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.16, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.97.
• Out of recent analyst ratings, three classified the stock as a sell, five as hold, and two as buy, resulting in an average rating of "Hold" with a target price of $87.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $85.00 to $87.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price points to a potential upside of 15.19% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $75.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,753,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,678. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.94. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.2% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 993,643 shares of the company's stock worth $78,925,000 after acquiring an additional 100,397 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 22,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $250,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 26.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,047 shares of the company's stock worth $4,928,000 after acquiring an additional 12,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 64,599 shares of the company's stock worth $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

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.