Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and nine have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.64.

PFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City State Bank increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.3% during the third quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 26.6% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of PFG stock opened at $81.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.25. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $86.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Principal Financial Group

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.