Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.1111.

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 136,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $86.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.72%.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.