Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $89.65, but opened at $86.88. Principal Financial Group shares last traded at $82.99, with a volume of 519,081 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PFG shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 6.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.72.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.6% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.