Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 283,179 Shares of Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ:PLL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ:PLL - Free Report) by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,482 shares of the mineral exploration company's stock after selling 283,179 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Piedmont Lithium worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Piedmont Lithium in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Piedmont Lithium in the second quarter valued at approximately $723,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Piedmont Lithium in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Piedmont Lithium by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 300,000 shares of the mineral exploration company's stock worth $2,994,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Piedmont Lithium by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 381,248 shares of the mineral exploration company's stock worth $3,805,000 after acquiring an additional 40,826 shares during the last quarter. 52.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm downgraded Piedmont Lithium from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $32.00 to $13.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Capital cut shares of Piedmont Lithium from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Piedmont Lithium from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Macquarie raised shares of Piedmont Lithium from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.50 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and set a $8.00 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of Piedmont Lithium in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.50.

Piedmont Lithium Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLL traded down $0.09 on Monday, reaching $13.19. 694,034 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 718,949. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Piedmont Lithium Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.57 and a twelve month high of $31.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.54 and a 200-day moving average of $10.90. The company has a market capitalization of $256.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.22 and a beta of 0.74.

About Piedmont Lithium

Piedmont Lithium Inc, a development stage company, engages in the exploration and development of resource projects in the United States. The company primarily holds a 100% interest in the Carolina Lithium Project that include an area of approximately 3,706 acres located within the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt situated to the northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States.