Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFGGet Free Report)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $105.17 and last traded at $105.3820, with a volume of 283134 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $103.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.10.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.73. The company has a market cap of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFGGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFG. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.

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