Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) reported Q4 EPS of $1.41, $0.02 better than the analyst estimate of $1.39.

Company Highlights

• Fourth quarter 2019 net income attributable to Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) of $300.9 million, or $1.07 per diluted share. Full year 2019 net income attributable to Principal Financial Group, Inc. of $1,394.2 million, or $4.96 per diluted share
• Fourth quarter 2019 non-GAAP operating earnings1 of $396.4 million, or $1.41 per diluted share. Full year 2019 non-GAAP operating earnings of $1,569.1 million, or $5.58 per diluted share
• Record assets under management (AUM) of $735.3 billion
• Company declares first quarter 2020 common stock dividend of $0.56 per share; a 4% increase over first quarter 2019
• Net income attributable to PFG for fourth quarter 2019 of $300.9 million, compared to $236.5 million for fourth quarter 2018. Net income per diluted share of $1.07 for fourth quarter 2019 compared to $0.83 in the prior year quarter. For the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2019, net income attributable to PFG of $1,394.2 million, or $4.96 per diluted share, compared to $1,546.5 million, or $5.36 per diluted share, for the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2018.
• Non-GAAP operating earnings for fourth quarter 2019 of $396.4 million, compared to $316.1 million for fourth quarter 2018. Non-GAAP operating earnings per diluted share of $1.41 for fourth quarter 2019 compared to $1.11 for fourth quarter 2018. For the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2019, non-GAAP operating earnings of $1,569.1 million, or $5.58 per diluted share, compared to $1,597.5 million, or $5.53 per diluted share, for the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2018.
• Quarterly common stock dividend of $0.56 per share for first quarter 2020 was authorized by the company’s Board of Directors, bringing the trailing twelve-month dividend to $2.20 per share, a 3% increase compared to the prior year trailing twelve-month period. The dividend will be payable on Mar. 27, 2020, to shareholders of record as of Mar. 2, 2020.

“I’m pleased with Principal’s results for the quarter and full year,” said Dan Houston, chairman, president and CEO. “We finished strong with fourth quarter non-GAAP operating earnings of $396 million, which brought full year operating earnings to $1.6 billion. We also delivered $17.3 billion of positive net cash flow in 2019. Our positive net cash, combined with favorable investment performance, led to record AUM of $735 billion. Our past decade is a good story of growth: We’ve delivered positive total company net cash flow in nine of the last ten years.”

“We continue to focus on creating long-term shareholder value through a balanced approach to capital deployment,” added Houston. “In 2019 we deployed $2.1 billion, which was well above our initial target. The Institutional Retirement & Trust (IRT) acquisition not only expands the scale and scope of our retirement business but reaffirms our role as an industry leader. On top of that, we returned $863 million to shareholders through common stock dividends and share repurchases.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Principal Financial Group (PFG) click here.