Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $109.89 and last traded at $109.21, with a volume of 1569917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group raised 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. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.63.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFG. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Principal Financial Group

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.