Morgan Stanley Cuts Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target to $83.00

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $83.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on PFG. 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 note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $77.75 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.66 and a 200-day moving average of $80.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $18.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.21. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $66.21 and a 1-year high of $88.26.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 54.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $253,990,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,313,000 after buying an additional 554,606 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 403.6% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,800,000 after purchasing an additional 284,067 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $19,698,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 282.0% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 308,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,633,000 after purchasing an additional 227,608 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.