Principal Financial upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

JPMorgan upgraded Principal Financial (PFG) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $92, down from $95. The upgrade reflects Principal’s lower-risk liability profile, an improved outlook for business trends, and the stock’s valuation, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm’s long-term fundamental outlook for the life insurance sector is downbeat, but it remains bullish on stocks in the near term. The favorable macro backdrop, insurers’ “healthy” balance sheets and flexibility for share buybacks, and current valuations will enable life insurance stocks to outperform further, contends JPMorgan.