Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $86.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Principal Financial Group traded as high as $88.72 and last traded at $88.69, with a volume of 22465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.48.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Raymond James raised Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $95,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,157,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,747,000 after purchasing an additional 200,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 2.0 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.40. The firm has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 55.92%.

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.