Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Upgraded to Neutral by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $96.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $88.00.

PFG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $82.60.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $79.26 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $80.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.57. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $66.21 and a fifty-two week high of $86.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $253,990,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% in the fourth quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,964 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,836,000 after acquiring an additional 575,646 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,313,000 after acquiring an additional 554,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.