Principal Financial Group’s (PFG) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their hold rating on shares of Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $92.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.22.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $87.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.19. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%.

Principal Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.