Company Profile (obtained from Marketwatch): The Principal Financial Group, Inc. is a global financial company, which offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients financial products and services. It specializes in retirement solutions, insurance, and investment products through the company’s diverse family of financial services companies and national network of financial professionals. It operates its business through following segments: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, U.S. Insurance Solutions and Corporate. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement and related financial products and services primarily to businesses, their employees and other individuals. The Principal Global Investors segment provides asset management services to asset accumulation business, insurance operations, corporate segment and third party clients and also refers to mutual fund business. The Principal International segment relates tor the operations in Latin America including Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, and Asia which comprised of China, Hong Kong, India and Southeast Asia. The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment provides specialty benefits insurance, which consists of group dental and vision insurance, individual and group disability insurance, group life insurance and non-medical fee-for-service claims administration, and individual life insurance throughout the United States. The Corporate segment manages the assets representing capital that has not been allocated to any other segment. The company was founded by Edward A. Temple in 1879 and is headquartered in Des Moines, IA.
Downloadable PDF version of this valuation:
ModernGraham Valuation of PFG – March 2018
Stage 1: Is this company suitable for the Defensive Investor or the Enterprising Investor?
What kind of Intelligent Investor are you?
| Defensive Investor; must pass all 6 of the following tests. | ||||
| 1. Adequate Size of the Enterprise | Market Cap > $2Bil | $17,776,233,579 | Pass | |
| 2. Earnings Stability | Positive EPS for 10 years prior | Pass | ||
| 3. Dividend Record | Dividend Payments for 10 years prior | Pass | ||
| 4. Earnings Growth | Increase of 33% in EPS in past 10 years using 3 year averages at beginning and end | 206.69% | Pass | |
| 5. Moderate PEmg Ratio | PEmg < 20 | 10.92 | Pass | |
| 6. Moderate Price to Assets | PB Ratio < 2.5 OR PB*PEmg < 50 | 1.41 | Pass | |
| Enterprising Investor; must pass all 3 of the following tests, or be suitable for the Defensive Investor. | ||||
| 1. Earnings Stability | Positive EPS for 5 years prior | Pass | ||
| 2. Dividend Record | Currently Pays Dividend | Pass | ||
| 3. Earnings Growth | EPSmg greater than 5 years ago | Pass | ||
Stage 2: Determination of Intrinsic Value
| EPSmg | $5.62 |
| MG Growth Estimate | 14.03% |
| MG Value | $205.39 |
| Opinion | Undervalued |
| MG Grade | B+ |
| MG Value based on 3% Growth | $81.48 |
| MG Value based on 0% Growth | $47.76 |
| Market Implied Growth Rate | 1.21% |
| Current Price | $61.37 |
| % of Intrinsic Value | 29.88% |
Principal Financial Group Inc qualifies for both the Defensive Investor and the Enterprising Investor. In fact, the company meets all of the requirements of both investor types, a rare accomplishment indicative of the company’s strong financial position . The Enterprising Investor has no initial concerns. As a result, all value investors following the ModernGraham approach should feel comfortable proceeding with the analysis.
As for a valuation, the company appears to be Undervalued after growing its EPSmg (normalized earnings) from $2.9 in 2014 to an estimated $5.62 for 2018. This level of demonstrated earnings growth outpaces the market’s implied estimate of 1.21% annual earnings growth over the next 7-10 years. As a result, the ModernGraham valuation model, based on Benjamin Graham’s formula, returns an estimate of intrinsic value above the price.
At the time of valuation, further research into Principal Financial Group Inc revealed the company was trading below its Graham Number of $74.18. The company pays a dividend of $1.87 per share, for a yield of 3%, putting it among the best dividend paying stocks today. Its PEmg (price over earnings per share – ModernGraham) was 10.92, which was below the industry average of 20.16, which by some methods of valuation makes it one of the most undervalued stocks in its industry.
Principal Financial Group Inc performs fairly well in the ModernGraham grading system, scoring a B+.
Stage 3: Information for Further Research
| Graham Number | $74.18 |
| PEmg | 10.92 |
| PB Ratio | 1.41 |
| Dividend Yield | 3.05% |
| TTM Dividend | $1.87 |
| Number of Consecutive Years of Dividend Growth | 9 |
Useful Links:
| ModernGraham tagged articles | Morningstar |
| Google Finance | MSN Money |
| Yahoo Finance | Seeking Alpha |
| GuruFocus | SEC Filings |
Most Recent Balance Sheet Figures
| Balance Sheet Information | 12/1/2017 |
| Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation | $3,178,400,000 |
| Total Assets | $253,941,200,000 |
| Intangible Assets | $2,383,500,000 |
| Total Liabilities | $241,091,900,000 |
| Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) | 294,300,000 |
Earnings Per Share History
| EPS History | |
| Next Fiscal Year Estimate | $5.50 |
| Dec2017 | $7.88 |
| Dec2016 | $4.50 |
| Dec2015 | $4.06 |
| Dec2014 | $3.65 |
| Dec2013 | $2.95 |
| Dec2012 | $2.58 |
| Dec2011 | $1.91 |
| Dec2010 | $1.95 |
| Dec2009 | $1.97 |
| Dec2008 | $1.63 |
| Dec2007 | $3.09 |
| Dec2006 | $3.74 |
| Dec2005 | $3.11 |
| Dec2004 | $2.62 |
| Dec2003 | $2.28 |
| Dec2002 | $0.41 |
| Dec2001 | $0.99 |
Earnings Per Share – ModernGraham History
| EPSmg History | |
| Next Fiscal Year Estimate | $5.62 |
| Dec2017 | $5.32 |
| Dec2016 | $3.88 |
| Dec2015 | $3.39 |
| Dec2014 | $2.90 |
| Dec2013 | $2.44 |
| Dec2012 | $2.13 |
| Dec2011 | $1.97 |
| Dec2010 | $2.16 |
| Dec2009 | $2.42 |
| Dec2008 | $2.70 |
| Dec2007 | $3.15 |
| Dec2006 | $2.93 |
| Dec2005 | $2.31 |
| Dec2004 | $1.70 |
| Dec2003 | $1.07 |
| Dec2002 | $0.40 |
Recommended Reading:
Other ModernGraham posts about the company
Other ModernGraham posts about related companies
Disclaimer:
The author did not hold a position in any company mentioned in this article at the time of publication and had no intention of changing that position within the next 72 hours.  See my current holdings here.  This article is not investment advice; any reader should speak to a registered investment adviser prior to making any investment decisions.  ModernGraham is not affiliated with the company in any manner.  Please be sure to review our detailed disclaimer.
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