Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE:PFG traded down $1.96 on Friday, reaching $79.10. The stock had a trading volume of 894,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,122,974. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group has a 12-month low of $65.17 and a 12-month high of $86.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.80 and a 200 day moving average of $77.39. The stock has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Principal Financial Group

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.