Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Raises Dividend to $0.73 Per Share

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.73 per share on Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72.

Principal Financial Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Principal Financial Group has a dividend payout ratio of 34.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Principal Financial Group to earn $8.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.1%.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $84.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,363,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,196. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $66.71 and a one year high of $91.97. The firm has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.72.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.58.

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.