Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $86.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Principal Financial Group traded as high as $88.72 and last traded at $88.69, with a volume of 22465 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.48.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 319.3% during the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.40.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.92%.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.