Principal Financial Group's (PFG) "Underperform" Rating Reaffirmed at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America reaffirmed its “underperform” rating on Principal Financial Group and lowered its price target to $95 from $98, implying about 15.45% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst views on PFG remain mixed: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $98.40, with several firms recently adjusting their targets and ratings in both directions.
• PFG shares were trading near their 52-week high at $112.36, while the company recently reported Q1 EPS of $2.07, beating estimates but missing revenue expectations.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating restated by stock analysts at Bank of America in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $95.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $98.00. Bank of America's target price would indicate a potential downside of 15.45% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on PFG. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.40.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.0%

PFG stock opened at $112.36 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $102.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.97. The company has a market cap of $24.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $112.45.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.