Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $105.17 and last traded at $105.3820, with a volume of 283134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Weiss Ratings cut Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.7%

The stock has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.65.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.