Brokerages Set Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Target Price at $86.90

Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.90.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PFG stock opened at $83.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $227,098,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,740,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,675,000 after purchasing an additional 139,953 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.