Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases 9,933 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,932 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,933 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFG. 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 raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.75.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $74.91 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $85.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.33. The firm has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -83.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.21 and a 52 week high of $91.97.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently -324.44%.

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.