Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Raises Dividend to $0.75 Per Share

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 7th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73.

Principal Financial Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.3% annually over the last three years. Principal Financial Group has a payout ratio of 31.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Principal Financial Group to earn $9.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.5%.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $82.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.07. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $72.21 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.15.

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.