Principal Financial price target lowered to $74 from $80 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler lowered the firm’s price target on Principal Financial to $74 from $80 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm says these were without a doubt improved results in Q3 with the group business continuing to be a remarkable source of stability. Further, outlook for share repurchase activity was increased near-term with a future update with 2024 outlook call while dividend also moved higher. That said, Principal Financial’s fee-based businesses face a number of near-term headwinds into its seasonally heaviest expense quarter when others reporting so far have announced expense reductions for those businesses specifically, Piper adds.