A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Principal Financial Group Inc. PFG. Shares have lost about 3.7% in that time frame, underperforming the market.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to the stock's next earnings release, or is it due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
Principal Financial Q1 Earnings Beat, Revenues Up Y/Y
Principal Financial’s first-quarter 2017 operating net income of $1.27 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a dime. The bottom line also improved 31% year over year.
The company’s investment performance remained strong. Moreover, the company expanded its solution set alongside strengthening relationships with customers and distributors in the quarter. The company also displayed a balanced approach to capital management.
Including net realized capital losses of 8 cents, net income available to common stockholders was $1.19 per share, down 4.8% year over year.
Behind the Headlines
Operating revenues inched up 1% year over year to $3.1 billion.
Total expenses rose 1.5% year over year to $2.6 billion. This was primarily due to the increase in operating expenses.
Principal Financial’s Asset Under Management (AUM) as of Mar 31, 2076 was a record $620 billion. The metric increased 4.8% from Dec 31, 2016.
As of Mar 31, 2017, book value per share (excluding AOCI other than foreign currency translation adjustment) was $34.85, up 2.2% year over year.
Segment Update
Retirement and Income Solution: Revenues were up approximately 1.3% year over year to about $1.5 billion.
Operating earnings increased 35% year over year to $244.2 million.
Principal Global Investors: Revenues of $345.9 million climbed nearly 12% from the prior-year quarter.
Operating earnings rose 25% year over year to $100 million owing to higher operating revenues and improved margins.
Principal International: Revenues increased 12% year over year to $321.3 million in the quarter.
Operating earnings surged 48% year over year to $100.9 million.
US Insurance Solution: Revenues increased 7.4% year over year to $956.4 million.
Operating earnings of $86.2 million were up 7.1% year over year.
Corporate: Revenues of $1.5 million compared favorably with ($13.1) million in the year-ago quarter.
Operating loss of $58.5 million was narrower than a loss of $53.3 million in the year-earlier quarter.
Dividend and Share Repurchase Update
The company paid $130 million in dividends and deployed $118 million to buy back 1.9 million shares in the first quarter. Total capital utilized was $248 million.
The board of directors Principal Financial announced a dividend of $0.46 per share for the second quarter. The dividend will be paid on Jun 30.
Principal Financial targets 2017 capital deployment of $800 million to $1.1 billion.