Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of PFG traded down $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $78.38. 602,267 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,120,336. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $65.17 and a 12-month high of $86.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.