Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for PFG FY2024 Earnings

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Principal Financial Group in a research note issued on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the company will earn $7.04 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $7.28. The consensus estimate for Principal Financial Group's current full-year earnings is $7.12 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Principal Financial Group's Q4 2024 earnings at $2.00 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.14 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.32 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.91 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.29 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.27 EPS.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 EPS.

PFG has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PFG traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.56. The stock had a trading volume of 3,581,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,143,378. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.37 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $85.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.15.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently -320.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFG. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 296,889 shares of the company's stock worth $25,624,000 after acquiring an additional 18,368 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 108.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,579 shares of the company's stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 27,827 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 59.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,095,000 after acquiring an additional 9,048 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 178,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,014,000 after purchasing an additional 65,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 54.2% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 9,432 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.