Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) PT Raised to $77.00

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Barclays from $75.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 7.17% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PFG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James raised Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 7.5 %

PFG traded down $6.70 on Friday, hitting $82.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,569,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,225. The firm has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group has a 1 year low of $66.71 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 403.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,800,000 after buying an additional 284,067 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $19,698,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 165.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,162,000 after buying an additional 210,476 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 586.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 234,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,267,000 after buying an additional 200,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $13,996,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.