Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target to $89.00

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price objective increased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $85.00 to $89.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 10.90% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Evercore ISI raised Principal Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $80.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.50 and its 200 day moving average is $76.76. Principal Financial Group has a twelve month low of $65.17 and a twelve month high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. City State Bank grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by 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.