Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $92.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $95.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.42.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.0 %

PFG opened at $78.33 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.16. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $72.21 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -87.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -324.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 3,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after purchasing an additional 118,722 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 231,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,867,000 after buying an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.