Zacks Research Issues Positive Estimate for PFG Earnings

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note issued on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn $2.40 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.38. The consensus estimate for Principal Financial Group’s current full-year earnings is $8.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Principal Financial Group’s Q2 2027 earnings at $2.41 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $2.27 EPS.

PFG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler set a $94.00 price target on Principal Financial Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $82.19 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $90.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.86. The company has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,345,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,018,000 after buying an additional 97,149 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after buying an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,098,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,008 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 81,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.00%.

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.