Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG)

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $92.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. 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 research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.22.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG opened at $87.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.15. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $884,616.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at $13,713,260.16. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 38.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 125,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,951,000 after purchasing an additional 34,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 59.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 238,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,958,000 after purchasing an additional 88,646 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.