Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Posts Earnings Results

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26), Zacks reports. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded down $5.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.71. 4,195,277 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,131,609. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $66.71 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $84.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.71. The company has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

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.