Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.50.

PFG has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $78.01 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $66.21 and a one year high of $86.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.23.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.20%.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $253,990,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% in the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,964 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,313,000 after purchasing an additional 554,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,290,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Principal Financial Group

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.