Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Issues Earnings Results

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.70%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $79.12 on Friday. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $86.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 52.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.