Principal Financial Group’s (PFG) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $103.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PFG. Barclays upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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 research report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $90.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $89.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $92.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.06. The company has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 81,421 shares in the company, valued at $6,924,041.84. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,269,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $297,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 98.0% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $1,486,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.