Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Stock Price

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $87.00 to $91.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.90% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG traded down $2.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 219,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,138,428. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.74 and its 200-day moving average is $82.27. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly 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). Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 59.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,095,000 after buying an additional 9,048 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.5% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 437.5% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 14,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 11,743 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 473.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 16,038 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.