Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.26 EPS

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26), Zacks reports. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of PFG traded down $5.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,195,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,131,609. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $66.71 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.71. The company has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

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.