Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.71

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 6th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.71 per share on Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69.

Principal Financial Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Principal Financial Group has a payout ratio of 33.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Principal Financial Group to earn $8.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.6%.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.8 %

PFG stock traded up $1.44 during trading on Monday, hitting $82.65. The company had a trading volume of 671,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,120,678. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.88. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $65.17 and a 12 month high of $86.79. The stock has a market cap of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.24.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PFG. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.30.

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.