Zacks Research Has Bullish Outlook for PFG FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Principal Financial Group from $7.98 to $8.20, reflecting a positive outlook for the company.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.16, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.19, indicating strong financial performance compared to the previous year's $1.63 EPS.
• Principal Financial Group announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.78, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.9%.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday, September 1st. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings of $8.20 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $7.98. The consensus estimate for Principal Financial Group's current full-year earnings is $8.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Principal Financial Group's Q4 2025 earnings at $2.13 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.38 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.13 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.96 EPS.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share.

PFG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PFG stock opened at $80.18 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The stock has a market cap of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $79.30 and a 200-day moving average of $79.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 14,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 431.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 118,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,191,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 469,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,338,000 after acquiring an additional 101,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 30,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 62.78%.

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.

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