PFG vs. MFC, PUK, SLF, WTW, CRBG, EQH, BNT, AEG, RYAN, and EG
Should you be buying Principal Financial Group stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Principal Financial Group include Manulife Financial (MFC), Prudential Public (PUK), Sun Life Financial (SLF), Willis Towers Watson Public (WTW), Corebridge Financial (CRBG), Equitable (EQH), Brookfield Wealth Solutions (BNT), Aegon (AEG), Ryan Specialty (RYAN), and Everest Group (EG). These companies are all part of the "insurance" industry.
Principal Financial Group vs. Its Competitors
Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) and Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation and dividends.
Manulife Financial has a net margin of 10.46% compared to Principal Financial Group's net margin of 7.53%. Manulife Financial's return on equity of 15.77% beat Principal Financial Group's return on equity.
Principal Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Manulife Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Principal Financial Group pays out 62.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Manulife Financial pays out 56.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Principal Financial Group has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Manulife Financial has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Manulife Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
In the previous week, Manulife Financial had 14 more articles in the media than Principal Financial Group. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Manulife Financial and 0 mentions for Principal Financial Group. Manulife Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.46 beat Principal Financial Group's score of 0.00 indicating that Manulife Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
Principal Financial Group has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manulife Financial has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Manulife Financial has a consensus target price of $48.50, indicating a potential upside of 50.05%. Given Manulife Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Manulife Financial is more favorable than Principal Financial Group.
75.1% of Principal Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of Manulife Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Principal Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Manulife Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Manulife Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Principal Financial Group. Manulife Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Principal Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Manulife Financial beats Principal Financial Group on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding PFG and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Media Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
Principal Financial Group Competitors List
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This page (NASDAQ:PFG) was last updated on 9/16/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
