Jefferies Financial Group announces new price target of $78.00 for Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG)

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG – Free Report) The price target was raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $74.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerage firms have also recently issued reports on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an equal-weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an equal-weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 5. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.50, according to data from MarketBeat.

Get our latest stock report on Principal Financial Group

Price development of Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group shares opened at $78.45 on Friday. Principal Financial Group has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $86.79. The stock has a market cap of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.93 and a 200-day moving average of $80.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.65 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company reported earnings per share of $1.48. Equities analysts expect Principal Financial Group to post earnings per share of $7.5 for the current year.

Principal Financial Group increases dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents an annualized dividend of $2.84 and a yield of 3.62%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.20%.

Institutional inflows and outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their holdings in PFG. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 76,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,065 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 242.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 32,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after acquiring an additional 23,020 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after acquiring an additional 27,827 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 48,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $13,996,000. 75.08% of the shares are currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

(Get free report)

Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement planning, asset management and insurance products and services to corporate, individual 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 planning and related financial products and services.