Piper Jaffray Remains Sidelined on Principal Financial Group (PFG) - PT to $48

Piper Jaffray maintained a Neutral rating on Principal Financial Group (NYSE: PFG), and cut the price target to $48.00 (from $50.00). Given PFG shares are currently ~37% off 52-week at a 2017 P/E of just 8.3x, Piper expects management to deploy a greater proportion of its free cashflow in 2016 toward buybacks.

Analyst John Nadel commented, "We are reducing estimates to reflect the positive impact of increased pace and scale of buybacks and higher earnings at RIS - Fee, PGI and Individual Life more than offset by equity market and Fx headwinds in addition to higher associated DAC expense levels. Notwithstanding faster buybacks and stronger growth in recurring deposits at RIS - Fee, we remain on the sidelines given PFG's sensitivity to macro factors as demonstrated with 4Q15 results. Net-net, our 1Q16E EPS drops $0.03 to $0.98, and our 2016/17E drop $0.05 each to $4.20/$4.45, respectively. Our price target moves to $48 from $50."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Principal Financial Group click here. For more ratings news on Principal Financial Group click here.

Shares of Principal Financial Group closed at $36.81 yesterday.

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