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

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.2222.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,998,660. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $95.76 on Friday. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $97.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $91.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.03). 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 $1.94 EPS. Principal Financial Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.010-9.260 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.