Brokerages Set Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Price Target at $84.69

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.31.

PFG has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,021,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,726,000 after buying an additional 627,865 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,389,000 after buying an additional 474,686 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 5,081.7% during the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 404,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,166,000 after buying an additional 397,138 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,448,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG opened at $74.15 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.81 and a 200-day moving average of $81.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.10%.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.