Wells Fargo & Company Reaffirms Underweight Rating for Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG)

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $75.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $84.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 5.41% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.75.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $79.29 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $86.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.45. The company has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $72.21 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 284,067 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $19,698,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 41.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,367,000 after purchasing an additional 146,473 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 818.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 152,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,112,000 after purchasing an additional 136,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 6,593.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 132,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,356,000 after purchasing an additional 130,225 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.