Empirical Finance LLC Increases Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,486 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 265 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $237,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 45,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 200.5% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 10,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 6,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 6,294 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.93. The company had a trading volume of 869,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,096,928. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.62. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $86.79. The stock has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 54.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James raised Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.92.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.