Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.03), Briefing.com reports. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Principal Financial Group updated its FY 2026 guidance to 9.010-9.260 EPS.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $95.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,162,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,573,986. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $97.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $90.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at $12,998,660. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,852 shares of company stock valued at $2,512,930 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.7% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,950,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $92.88.

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.