Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Now Covered by BMO Capital Markets

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

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.92.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.05 and its 200-day moving average is $82.24. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $72.21 and a 1 year high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFG. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 18.2% in the 2nd 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 boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the 3rd 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. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.