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

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.2222.

PFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG stock opened at $95.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $91.42 and a 200-day moving average of $85.24. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.03). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Principal Financial Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.010-9.260 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,998,660. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,345,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,018,000 after purchasing an additional 97,149 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after buying an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,970,000 after buying an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $273,276,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,079,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 55,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.