Brokerages Set Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) PT at $85.92

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.92.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,905,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,393,000 after buying an additional 39,854 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,903,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,301,000 after acquiring an additional 53,516 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,577,000 after acquiring an additional 18,801 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,293,000 after purchasing an additional 88,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 27.2% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 540,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,404,000 after purchasing an additional 115,569 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $84.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.45. Principal Financial Group has a 52 week low of $72.21 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.22, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -324.44%.

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.