Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG traded down $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.38. 602,267 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,120,336. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.80 and a 200-day moving average of $77.39. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $86.79. The firm has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.25. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.64.

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.