Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $81.00 to $82.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

PFG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $78.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.25. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $65.17 and a fifty-two week high of $86.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.95.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.65%.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,667,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 277,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,804,000 after purchasing an additional 37,836 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,218.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 250,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,715,000 after purchasing an additional 231,601 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.