Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $92.8750.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PFG opened at $92.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.41. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $93.88.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 8,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.56, for a total transaction of $742,794.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 54,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,019,251.12. The trade was a 12.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,212 shares of company stock valued at $931,014. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 37,800.0% in the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 163.4% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 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.