Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) Receives $94.11 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.1111.

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFG. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,713,260.16. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460 in the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.0%

PFG opened at $85.07 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $97.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.86 and its 200 day moving average is $86.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.72%.

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.