Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for PFG Earnings

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) – Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Principal Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, February 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will earn $1.89 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.93. The consensus estimate for Principal Financial Group’s current full-year earnings is $8.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Principal Financial Group’s Q3 2025 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.14 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.74 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.16 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of PFG opened at $85.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.10. Principal Financial Group has a twelve month low of $72.21 and a twelve month high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.22.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. 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.