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

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.92.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. Bank of America reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $84.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.45. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $72.21 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.22, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -324.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 54.2% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after buying an additional 9,432 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $13,996,000. PGGM Investments raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 48,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 108.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 27,827 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 242.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 32,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,808,000 after acquiring an additional 23,020 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.