Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target Raised to $77.00

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $75.00 to $77.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted 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 report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.9 %

PFG stock opened at $84.49 on Friday. Principal Financial Group has a 52 week low of $66.71 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The company has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of -93.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is -320.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 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.