Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Hits 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. The stock had previously closed at $87.48.

PFG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 note on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 319.3% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 499 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.72 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.92%.

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.