Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) to Issue Dividend Increase - $0.75 Per Share

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.75 per share on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73.

Principal Financial Group has increased its dividend by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years. Principal Financial Group has a payout ratio of 31.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Principal Financial Group to earn $9.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.5%.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $85.45. 1,952,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,503,338. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.04. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $72.21 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The stock has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.38.

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.