Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Stock

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $93.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 1.60% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $93.50 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.23. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $97.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.03). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Principal Financial Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.010-9.260 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460 in the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Capital Management Corp VA grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 172,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,322,000 after buying an additional 27,857 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 160.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 48,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 30,118 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 41.5% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 127,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,504,000 after acquiring an additional 37,357 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $18,526,000. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $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.