Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Principal Financial Group from $91 to $87 and kept an "equal weight" rating, implying about a 5.19% downside from the current price.
• Analysts' consensus remains a Hold with an average target of $93.89 (2 Buys, 7 Holds, 1 Sell), reflecting mixed views and a wide range of individual price targets.
• PFG shares traded around $91.76 (down ~0.6%) with a market cap of ~$19.9B, while insider activity included the CEO selling 9,300 shares and insiders offloading 24,665 shares in the past three months (insiders own 1.08%).

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $87.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential downside of 5.19% from the company's current price.

PFG has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings raised Principal Financial Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.89.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.6%

Principal Financial Group stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $91.76. The stock had a trading volume of 95,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,672,233. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $69.80 and a 12 month high of $97.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.74.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 24,665 shares of company stock worth $2,324,710 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 812,064 shares of the company's stock worth $71,720,000 after purchasing an additional 14,356 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 19,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,319 shares of the company's stock worth $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $109,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $375,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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