Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Given Market Perform Rating at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their market perform rating on shares of Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $92.00 price target on the stock.

PFG has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.22.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $88.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $97.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 60.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $697,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 136,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Management Corp VA boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 172,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,322,000 after purchasing an additional 27,857 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 160.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 48,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,978,000 after buying an additional 30,118 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 127,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,504,000 after buying an additional 37,357 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $18,526,000. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $1,486,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.