Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $86.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Principal Financial Group traded as low as $72.21 and last traded at $74.15, with a volume of 1769016 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.59.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,546,000 after buying an additional 326,604 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after buying an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,318,000 after acquiring an additional 209,885 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.59 and a 200 day moving average of $81.81. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). 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 company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

About Principal Financial Group

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.