Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $91.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $85.00.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on PFG. Bank of America boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.89.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $95.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $97.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.82. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.03). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Principal Financial Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.010-9.260 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460 over the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFG. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $375,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,775,000 after buying an additional 3,802 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 2,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Principal Financial Group

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.