Risk Intelligence
Core Model
—
Not Available
Not Scored
How strong and defensively sound is the company?
This reading is not available for this company yet.
Suggestions
PFG · NASDAQ
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC
Private betaSector unavailable · Industry unavailable
$116.17
+1.05%
Close on Sep 11, 2026
Insufficient Data
Updated 6/30/2026
Long-term research evidence only. No price targets, no trading signals, no recommendations.
Investment Report Card
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC
Sector unavailable · Data confidence insufficient
No Suggested Investment Score today
Risk Intelligence is unavailable
Long-Term Potential
Research Model
—
Not Available
Not Scored
Does the business have the characteristics needed to create value over many years?
This reading is not available for this company yet.
Fundamental Momentum
Research Model
—
Not Available
Not Scored
Is the underlying business getting stronger or weaker?
This reading is not available for this company yet.
Ownership Intelligence
Supplemental Intelligence
—
Not Available
Positive disclosed activity
What are important owners actually doing?
This reading is not available for this company yet.
Valuation Intelligence
Research Model
D+
50 / 100
Reasonable
Is today's price reasonable?
Weaker than most covered companies on this measure — and valuation is researched separately from the Suggested Investment Score.
Capital Returns Intelligence
Research Model
A−
88 / 100
Exceptional Capital Returns
How effectively does the company reward shareholders?
Among the strongest readings on this measure — and capital returns are researched separately from the Suggested Investment Score.
Why it stands out
- More disclosed holders are new or increasing than reducing or exiting.
What holds it back
No weakening evidence is recorded in today's readings.
Long-term view
Long-Term Potential is not available for this company, so no long-term reading is shown.
Ownership view
No disclosed ownership reading is available at the required confidence, so ownership is left blank rather than estimated.
Valuation view
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC reads 50 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Reasonable. The stock currently trades above most of its own recent valuation history and below comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value. Valuation Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.
Capital returns view
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC reads 88 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Exceptional Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend that has grown about 7.5% a year and a share count falling about 4.4% a year. Capital Returns Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.
What changed
No meaningful recorded changes in the stored history.
Risk Intelligence is a core model, Long-Term Potential, Fundamental Momentum, Valuation Intelligence and Capital Returns Intelligence are research models, and Ownership Intelligence is supplemental descriptive evidence. Valuation Intelligence and Capital Returns Intelligence each contribute 0% to the Suggested Investment Score. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Compare PFG with other companiesAppears in
Rule-based membership
- Strong Capital Returnerssince 2026-09-12
- Effective Buyback Leaderssince 2026-09-12
- Dividend Growth Leaderssince 2026-09-12
Membership means the company satisfied a published rule on the latest research build. It is not a recommendation.
60-Second Brief
Too few stored readings exist for this company to summarise honestly.
Composite discovery model
Suggested Investment Score
Suggested Investment Score
Not currently in the Suggested Investment ranking
Risk Intelligence is unavailable. A composite score is only published when every required input is available for this company. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap, and exclusion from the ranking is not a sell instruction.
COMPOSITE DISCOVERY MODEL — RESEARCH STAGE · Ranking updated September 12, 2026
Researched separately
Valuation Intelligence 50 · Reasonable
RESEARCH MODEL
Valuation Intelligence is currently researched separately and does not affect the Suggested Investment Score or daily ranking.
Researched separately
Capital Returns Intelligence 88 · Exceptional Capital Returns
RESEARCH MODEL
Capital Returns Intelligence is researched separately and contributes 0% to the Suggested Investment Score, the daily rank or any ranking event.
Why this company scores the way it does
This company does not currently hold a stored Suggested Investment Score, so no contribution breakdown can be shown.
Stored snapshots only
What changed
Research-score history available since September 2026.
Stored research history does not yet cover a full 30 days comparison for this company.
A change is reported as meaningful at 8 score points, 5 rank places, or any change of research classification. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.
Learn the metrics on this page
Plain-English definitions, with the formula and the limitations of each measure.
Fifth research lens · outside the score
Valuation Intelligence
Valuation Intelligence
Is today's price reasonable?
Valuation Intelligence is currently researched separately and does not affect the Suggested Investment Score or daily ranking.
50/ 100
Reasonable
RESEARCH MODEL
Good coverage
Compared with its history
3
Expensive
Is this company expensive or inexpensive compared with its own history?
Compared with peers
64
Attractive
How expensive is this stock compared with similar companies?
Earnings & cash flow
66
Attractive
How much financial output does an investor receive relative to the price paid?
Growth-adjusted
83
Very Attractive
Does the company's growth help justify the valuation investors are paying?
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC reads 50 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Reasonable. The stock currently trades above most of its own recent valuation history and below comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value.
Price data through September 11, 2026 · Financial data through the quarter ended June 30, 2026
Valuation history
Stored readings only. The dashed line is this company's own median for the selected measure.
Only one stored valuation reading exists so far, so there is nothing to chart yet. Valuation history builds forward from activation rather than being reconstructed.
Current P/E 16.0x · own median 10.8x · peer median 17.5x
Valuation is inherently uncertain. A stock that appears inexpensive can continue falling, and a stock that appears expensive can continue rising. Valuation Intelligence provides context about the price investors are paying — it does not predict short-term market movements, and it never produces a fair value, a price target or a buy or sell range. Model VALUATION_INTELLIGENCE_V1.
Sixth research lens · outside the score
Capital Returns Intelligence
Capital Returns Intelligence
How effectively does the company reward shareholders?
Capital Returns Intelligence is researched separately and contributes 0% to the Suggested Investment Score, the daily rank or any ranking event.
88/ 100
Exceptional Capital Returns
RESEARCH MODEL
Excellent coverage
Dividend Quality
91
Exceptional Capital Returns
Dividend reliability
Buyback Effectiveness
84
Exceptional Capital Returns
Do buybacks actually reduce shares?
Dilution Control
87
Exceptional Capital Returns
Is your ownership share protected?
Capital Return Sustainability
88
Exceptional Capital Returns
Can the cash flow support it?
Shareholder Yield
89
Exceptional Capital Returns
Cash returned versus company value
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC reads 88 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Exceptional Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend that has grown about 7.5% a year and a share count falling about 4.4% a year.
How returned cash was used
Dividends $695.30M · net repurchases $910.40M · total returned $1.61B · 33% of free cash flow
Price data through September 11, 2026 · Financial data through the quarter ended June 30, 2026
Capital returns history
Stored readings only. History builds forward from activation rather than being reconstructed.
Only one stored reading exists for this measure so far, so there is nothing to chart yet.
Why higher yield isn't always better
A very high dividend yield may reflect a falling share price or an unsustainable payout. Capital Returns Intelligence emphasizes consistency and sustainability rather than simply rewarding the highest yield.
Why buybacks can be misleading
Announced or gross buyback spending does not always mean shareholders are gaining ownership. Companies can simultaneously issue shares through employee compensation or acquisitions. Suggested Investments therefore considers actual share-count changes alongside repurchase spending.
What these terms mean
- Dividend Yield
- The annual dividend relative to the current share price.
- Payout Ratio
- The share of company earnings used to pay dividends.
- Free Cash Flow Payout
- How much of the company's available cash is being used for dividends.
- Share Repurchases
- When a company buys back its own stock.
- Dilution
- When the number of shares increases, reducing each existing share's percentage ownership of the company.
- Shareholder Yield
- A combined view of dividends and net share repurchases relative to the company's market value.
Capital Returns Intelligence describes how a company returns capital to shareholders. It is not a measure of stock-price performance, it does not predict future returns, and a strong reading is never a recommendation to buy. Dividends and repurchases can be reduced or stopped at any time. Model CAPITAL_RETURNS_INTELLIGENCE_V1, contributing 0% to the Suggested Investment Score.
Stored daily snapshots only
Ranking history
| Today | Not ranked | No stored score |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days ago | Not ranked | No stored score |
| 90 days ago | Not ranked | No stored score |
| First suggested | Not yet suggested | |
| Highest rank | Not ranked | |
In the company’s own words
What this company does
Principal Financial Group, Inc. ("PFG") is a leader in global financial services offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and workplace benefits and protection solutions through our diverse family of financial services companies. We had $1,814.6 billion in assets under administration ("AUA"), including $781.0 billion in assets under management ("AUM") as of December 31, 2025.
Our global asset management businesses serve a broad range of institutional, retirement, high net worth, and retail investors worldwide. Our focused investment teams provide diverse, long-term investment capabilities including equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as fund offerings. Our international asset management and accumulation businesses focus on the opportunities created as aging populations around the world drive increased demand for retirement accumulation, retirement asset management and retirement income management solutions.
In the U.S., we offer a broad array of retirement and employee benefit and insurance solutions to meet the needs of the business owner and their employees. We are a leading provider of defined contribution plans, nonqualified plans, defined benefit plans and pension risk transfer services. We are also a leading employee stock ownership plan ("ESOP") consultant. In addition, we are one of the largest providers of specialty benefits and insurance solutions for business owners and their employees. We believe small and medium-sized businesses are an underserved market, offering attractive growth opportunities in the retirement and employee benefit markets.
We also have a Corporate segment, which consists of the assets and activities that have not been allocated to any other segment.
Quoted from the business section of this company’s 10-K filed February 18, 2026. Read the filing
Four distinct intelligence areas
The IA view
Risk Intelligence
Production core
—
Insufficient Data
No prior period to compare
Business Quality qualification score from the locked IA Defensive Research Core. Price Risk stays a separate category and is never blended in.
Long-Term Potential
Research model
—
Insufficient Data
No prior period to compare
Durable business economics and reinvestment characteristics. Independent external validation is pending.
Fundamental Momentum
Research model
—
Insufficient Data
No prior period to compare
Direction and breadth of change in underlying business fundamentals. Not a price-momentum signal.
Elite Investor Activity
Supplemental
33
Lower range
-54.2 vs Sep 30, 2024
Too few tracked managers disclosed a position to describe consensus.
As of Dec 31, 2024
Company intelligence
PFG score history
Each area is measured and reported separately. No combined score exists.
PFG intelligence history from 2023-09-30 to 2026-09-11. Elite Investor Activity 33.3 on 2024-12-31, down 54.2 from 87.5 on 2024-09-30. Each area is reported separately and is never combined into a single score.
Elite Investor Activity 33.3 as of Dec 31, 2024 (-54.2 vs prior period) · Supplemental
Share price
PFG price history
Closing prices adjusted for splits and dividends. Past prices do not indicate future results.
- 6M change
- +36.8%
- 1Y change
- +46.3%
- 3Y change
- +70.8%
- 5Y change
- +110.7%
- Max change
- +169.2%
Last stored close $116.17 · +46.3% over the selected range · 52 sessions shown
Balanced evidence
Why IA likes it
- More disclosed holders are new or increasing than reducing or exiting.
Risk and uncertainty
What IA doesn’t like
- No specific negative evidence is available. This is not evidence of low risk.
What would change our view
- Business Quality falling below the frozen qualification threshold.
- Price Risk moving to a less favorable category.
- A sustained reversal in the Fundamental Momentum research evidence.
- New material public ownership disclosures.
Public filings · descriptive only
Elite Investor Activity
Reporting holders
1
New holders
1
Increasing
0
Reducing
0
Exiting
0
Coverage
Excellent
Positive disclosed activity · Report period 2016-12-31 · Public 12/22/2023
| Manager | Change | Portfolio weight | Rank | Disclosed |
|---|
Insufficient high-confidence manager coverage.
Objective stored changes
What changed
- Elite Investor Activity
Elite Investor Consensus weakened
Disclosed agreement among tracked managers moved from 88 to 33 for the reporting period ending 2024-12-31.
- Elite Investor Activity
Tracked managers initiated positions
3 tracked managers first disclosed a position for the reporting period ending 2024-09-30.
Ownership timeline
No high-confidence public ownership events are available.
General research only. Not personalized advice. Public filings may be delayed, amended, incomplete, or reflect positions that have changed since the reporting date.