Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $104.76 and last traded at $104.42, with a volume of 119474 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a market cap of $22.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.00.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Management Corp VA increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 172,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,322,000 after purchasing an additional 27,857 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 127,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,504,000 after purchasing an additional 37,357 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 170,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,152,000 after purchasing an additional 13,795 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $998,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $924,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.