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

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.85.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFG. UBS Group cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,293,000 after acquiring an additional 88,179 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,534,000 after purchasing an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of PFG opened at $77.35 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $77.83 and a 200 day moving average of $81.01. The company has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. 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 3.93%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.10%.

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.