Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $114.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 1.04% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on PFG. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.60.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.9%

PFG stock traded up $2.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $112.82. 597,739 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,498,088. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $75.00 and a 1 year high of $113.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the transaction, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.