Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target to $88.00

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its target price reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.70.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of PFG opened at $76.81 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.48 and a 200 day moving average of $79.82. The company has a market cap of $17.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,460,000. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 139,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,798,000 after buying an additional 17,536 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 4,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,426 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.