Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Stock Price

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $69.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.25.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PFG opened at $78.84 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $72.21 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $81.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.16. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a PE ratio of -87.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.22.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -324.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 142 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.