Brokerages Set Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) PT at $85.58

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.58.

PFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 403.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,800,000 after purchasing an additional 284,067 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $19,698,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 165.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,162,000 after buying an additional 210,476 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 586.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 234,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,267,000 after buying an additional 200,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,996,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 4.3 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $86.14 on Monday. Principal Financial Group has a twelve month low of $68.69 and a twelve month high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.20. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $84.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.93.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share 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 firm 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 firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. 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 3.39%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is -320.00%.

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.