Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.3333.

Several research firms recently issued reports on PFG. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $100.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.23. Principal Financial Group has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $103.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 9.31 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, 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 three months, insiders have sold 17,572 shares of company stock worth $1,776,769. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.1% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,015,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.