Brokerages Set Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) PT at $85.58

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.42.

A number of analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.6% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 18.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PFG opened at $89.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $66.21 and a 12-month high of $89.96.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.96%.

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.