Denali Advisors LLC Purchases 4,800 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 259.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. City State Bank grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 38,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $79.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.57. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.21 and a 12-month high of $86.79. The company has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PFG shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.60.

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.