FORA Capital LLC Takes $1.14 Million Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 13,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,137,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after acquiring an additional 27,827 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.3% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 178,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,014,000 after acquiring an additional 65,070 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 9,432 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 298,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,422,000 after acquiring an additional 63,747 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $87.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.42. The company has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of -96.98, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group, Inc. 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm posted $1.72 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -324.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PFG shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

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.