Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyShares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $92.69 and last traded at $92.3550, with a volume of 342420 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $91.09.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $92.88.
Read Our Latest Report on Principal Financial Group
Principal Financial Group Price Performance
The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.22. The stock has a market cap of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89.
Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $27,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,252 shares in the company, valued at $5,758,310. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,345,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,018,000 after buying an additional 97,149 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after buying an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $227,098,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,800,000 after acquiring an additional 776,997 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Principal Financial Group Company Profile
Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.
On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.