Brokerages Set Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) PT at $88.90

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.90.

PFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $94.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $84.47 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $81.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.77. The company has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, 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 has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $90.31.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.00%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total value of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 81,421 shares in the company, valued at $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,357,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 84.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,103,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,856,000 after acquiring an additional 506,841 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,284,000. Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 199.1% in the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 637,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,843,000 after purchasing an additional 424,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 113.6% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 7,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.