Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Decreases Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 81.7% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.30.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $81.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.77 and a 200-day moving average of $77.72. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.17 and a 52-week high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 52.67%.

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.