Qsemble Capital Management LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Qsemble Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 43.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,746 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFG. BOKF NA acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $151,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 9,432 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 17,526.5% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 5,959 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $13,996,000. Finally, PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 48,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $87.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $71.39 and a one year high of $91.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.42. The stock has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently -324.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Profile

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.