9,965 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Purchased by Legacy Financial Group LLC

Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $771,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 25,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 36,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 127,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,994,000 after buying an additional 25,156 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,910,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 80.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 6,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $81.83 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.21 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.28.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on PFG shares. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.92.

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.