Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Earns Underweight Rating from Wells Fargo & Company

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $75.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $84.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential downside of 5.41% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.75.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $79.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.45. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $72.21 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The company has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.