Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.25.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $19,698,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 398.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,555,000 after purchasing an additional 232,915 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,367,000 after purchasing an additional 146,473 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 818.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 152,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,112,000 after purchasing an additional 136,021 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 6,593.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 132,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,356,000 after purchasing an additional 130,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE PFG opened at $81.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.73, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.25. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $72.21 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.