Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.60.

Several brokerages recently commented on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 15th.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:PFG opened at $90.29 on Friday. Principal Financial Group has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $92.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $86.78 and its 200-day moving average is $82.48. The firm has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total value of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $227,098,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,008 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after buying an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 62.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,800,000 after buying an additional 776,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,791,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,213,000 after buying an additional 654,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.