Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Announces Earnings Results

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $999.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $996.99, reports. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $97.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,663,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,653,642. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $71.54 and a one year high of $98.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $21.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.53.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.72%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 8,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 5,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.44.

About Principal Financial Group

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.