Two Sigma Securities LLC Makes New $881,000 Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $881,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG opened at $110.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.18. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $116.61.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup lowered Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.67.

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.