Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target Raised to $71.00

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $67.00 to $71.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG opened at $77.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.04.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,293,000 after purchasing an additional 88,179 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after purchasing an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 25,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.