BMO Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG)

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note 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 report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $81.87 on Thursday. 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 has a 1-year low of $72.21 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.24. The company has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 18.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.