Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Given New $67.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $67.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential downside of 12.42% from the company’s current price.

PFG has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.46.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Principal Financial Group stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 177,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.23 and a 200-day moving average of $81.49. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $91.98. The stock has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,805,000 after buying an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,546,000 after buying an additional 326,604 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $217,021,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.