Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $109.08 According to Analysts

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $108.58.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5,733.3% in the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.9%

PFG opened at $108.73 on Monday. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $121.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.53.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.73%.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1879, the company provides retirement, investment, insurance and financial wellness solutions to individuals, businesses and institutional clients.

Its offerings include employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, pension and income solutions, group benefits, life insurance and specialty benefits. Through its investment management operations, Principal also provides asset management and related services to retirement plans, institutions and individual investors.

Principal Financial Group serves customers in the United States and selected international markets, including countries in Latin America and Asia.