Zacks Research Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for PFG

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Principal Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the company will post earnings of $1.47 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.06. The consensus estimate for Principal Financial Group’s current full-year earnings is $7.09 per share.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PFG. Citigroup upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 2.2 %

PFG opened at $84.18 on Monday. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $71.39 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.53, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $85.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.30.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 108.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after buying an additional 27,827 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after buying an additional 9,048 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 178,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,014,000 after buying an additional 65,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,317,000 after buying an additional 9,432 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 3.47%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -320.00%.

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.