UBS Group Cuts Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target to $80.00

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price objective cut by UBS Group from $93.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $65.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.31.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $74.07 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.81. Principal Financial Group has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,293,000 after purchasing an additional 88,179 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,000. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $281,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 16.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,570,000 after acquiring an additional 11,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 231,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,867,000 after purchasing an additional 6,817 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.