Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $999.00 EPS for the quarter, Zacks reports. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PFG stock traded down $0.43 on Thursday, hitting $97.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,555,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,653,641. The firm has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group has a twelve month low of $71.54 and a twelve month high of $98.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.53.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.72%.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at $13,713,260.16. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AXA S.A. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $203,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.7% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $182,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 96.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.44.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.