Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

by · The Cerbat Gem

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG – Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.58.

PFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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 company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.6 %

PFG opened at $85.45 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.99. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of -94.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $68.69 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -320.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $823,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 165.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,162,000 after purchasing an additional 210,476 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 17.4% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $125,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Principal Financial Group

(Get Free Report

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.

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