Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Receives $86.57 Average Price Target from Analysts

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.57.

Several analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of PFG stock opened at $71.65 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $68.70 and a 52-week high of $91.98. The stock has a market cap of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.90 and its 200-day moving average is $83.57. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,534,000 after buying an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during 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 worth $145,318,000 after acquiring an additional 209,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.