Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG) Stock Price & How to Invest

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that serves individuals and businesses across retirement, investment management, and insurance. Its business is organized around a few core engines: Retirement and Income Solutions (workplace retirement plans, annuities, and income products in the United States), Global Asset Management (the Principal Global Investors and Principal International operations that manage money for institutional and retail clients), and U.S. Insurance Solutions (specialty benefits like dental, vision, disability, and life insurance, plus individual life). The company earns money from fees on the assets it manages and administers, spread income on its insurance and annuity products, and insurance premiums, so a large share of its revenue is tied to the level of assets under management, which reached about $770 billion in early 2026.

The investment picture rests on Principal's shift toward higher-fee, capital-lighter retirement and asset management businesses, its international pension franchise, and a strong capital-return story. The company has raised its dividend for many consecutive quarters, now paying about $3.36 per share a year, and returns capital through buybacks, targeting a non-GAAP operating return on equity in the mid-teens. Full-year 2025 GAAP results were held down by items affecting net income, but 2026 has been stronger: trailing twelve-month revenue reached about $15.7 billion and net income about $1.56 billion, and second quarter 2026 EPS of $2.50 beat the $2.33 consensus on revenue of about $4.0 billion, up roughly 6% year over year. The stock closed at about $109 on October 16, 2026, up roughly 22% year to date and 39% over one year, though it slipped about 7% over the prior month as several brokers trimmed price targets. Third quarter results are due October 26, 2026, with consensus near $2.44 of EPS. Because so much of the model depends on asset values and flows, the stock tends to track equity markets, interest rates, and the pace of net client inflows and outflows.

Because a large share of Principal's revenue comes from fees on managed assets, the stock is sensitive to equity and bond market declines, which shrink assets under management and fee income. Net outflows, where clients withdraw more than they add, can offset market gains and pressure the asset management and retirement segments. Interest rates cut both ways: they affect spread income on annuities and insurance products, the value of the investment portfolio, and demand for retirement products. The insurance operations carry underwriting, mortality, morbidity, and reserve risks, and adverse claims experience or reserve strengthening can depress earnings, as reflected in the gap between GAAP net income and operating earnings in 2025. Sell-side sentiment is mixed after the 2026 rally: in October 2026 Barclays (underweight, $86 target), Jefferies ($98), JPMorgan ($106), Wells Fargo ($113) and KBW ($115) all trimmed targets, and BofA keeps an underperform rating. International operations add currency and local regulatory and political risk, and the whole business faces intense competition and fee pressure from much larger asset managers and insurers.

12 analysts publish price targets on PFG, averaging $111.08 against a $108.81 price as of October 2026, or +2.1%. The published targets run from $86.00 to $128.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 2 buy, 8 hold, 2 sell. Over the last six months there have been 6 raises and 6 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full PFG forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Principal Financial Group Inc. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Retirement and asset management fee growth. Principal's largest profit engines are workplace retirement plans and global asset management, which generate recurring fees on assets under management of roughly $770 billion as of early 2026. The most optimistic published target, $128.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Because a large share of Principal's revenue comes from fees on managed assets, the stock is sensitive to equity and bond market declines, which shrink assets under management and fee income. The most pessimistic target, $86.00, is roughly what PFG is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on PFG, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Principal Financial Group Inc's investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$15.7 billion (Q2 2026 +~6% YoY)
• Net Income (TTM, GAAP): ~$1.56 billion
• Q2 2026 EPS: ~$2.50 vs ~$2.33 consensus
• Assets Under Management (Q1 2026): ~$770 billion
• Non-GAAP Operating ROE (Q1 2026): ~16% (target 15-17%)
• Dividend: ~$3.36 per share annually, yield ~3.1%
• Market Capitalization: ~$23.4 billion
• P/E (trailing / forward): ~15.5x / ~10.7x

Principal trades at about 15.5x trailing and under 11x forward earnings, with a roughly 3.1% dividend yield and a mid-teens operating return on equity. GAAP EPS fell in 2025 on items affecting net income, but 2026 results have run ahead of estimates, including a Q2 beat of $2.50 against $2.33. After a 22% gain this year the shares sit near the 12 analysts' mean target of about $111, so further upside depends on flows and markets holding up. Valuation and results are closely tied to the level of equity markets and asset flows, so figures move with market conditions.

Other names that sit close to PFG: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get PFG exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so PFG sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where PFG fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Principal is a diversified, dividend-focused financial services company built around retirement, global asset management, and insurance, trading at about 15.5x trailing and 11x forward earnings with a roughly 3.1% yield. A strong Q2 2026 beat helped the stock gain about 22% in 2026, though analysts' views are split (a hold consensus near $111) ahead of third quarter results on October 26, 2026. Its results move with equity markets, interest rates, and the direction of client asset flows.

Whether PFG is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is PFG a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the PFG stock forecast.

For income investors, whether PFG pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does PFG pay a dividend? And to weigh PFG against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: PFG vs PRU and PFG vs MET.