Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.50.

PFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.0 %

PFG stock opened at $85.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.99. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $66.21 and a one year high of $88.26. The firm has a market cap of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.31 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 18.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.