Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 9th, 2023

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG – Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

PFG has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an underweight rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their price target for the company from $77.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, 3M reiterated an upgrade rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $76.54.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of PFG opened at $69.89 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $65.17 and a 1 year high of $96.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.31.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.49 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 7th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 6th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.19%.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFG. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 100.0% in the first quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.1% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 70.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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 Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments.