Principal Financial Group (PFG) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) will release its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, October 24th. Analysts expect Principal Financial Group to post earnings of $1.99 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly 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). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect Principal Financial Group to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $91.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.50. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $66.21 and a fifty-two week high of $91.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.19.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.42.

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.