Brokerages Set Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Price Target at $86.90

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.90.

Several brokerages have recently commented on PFG. UBS Group increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG opened at $83.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.81 and a 200-day moving average of $78.75.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 62.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,345,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,018,000 after purchasing an additional 97,149 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,098,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,740,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,675,000 after buying an additional 139,953 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.