Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $37.61 Million Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 18.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 150,783 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 33,418 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $37,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. JNBA Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 6.0% in the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 3,086 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth about $312,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 2.2% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 41,934 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $10,460,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on First Solar from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.13.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $193.83 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.50 and a 1 year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.