Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Raises Dividend to $0.71 Per Share

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 6th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.71 per share on Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69.

Principal Financial Group has increased its dividend by an average of 5.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Principal Financial Group has a payout ratio of 33.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Principal Financial Group to earn $8.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.6%.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.8 %

Principal Financial Group stock traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $82.65. 671,950 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,120,678. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.24. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $65.17 and a 52-week high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.30.

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.