- Principal Financial Group ( NASDAQ: PFG ) stock dipped 2.4% in Thursday premarket trading after Credit Suisse analyst Andrew Kilgerman downgraded shares of the insurer to Underperform from Neutral, arguing that its valuation has already increased significantly thus limited upside here on out.
- In the past six months alone, PFG stock jumped 25% , trading just around 5% below its November all-time high. And it's changing hands at 12.8x consensus estimate, well above the peer average of 8.4x, Kilgerman pointed out in a note written to clients.
- Still, the analyst continues to be bullish on the company's recent actions, including "de-risking of fixed annuities and universal life with secondary guarantees and focusing on capital return," the note read.
- And while an extended market rally would bode well for PFG earnings, "we see few company-specific catalysts to drive outperformance as the capital levels are well known, and de-risking has occurred," Kilgerman wrote.
- The Underperform rating contrasts with the Quant system's Strong Buy rating, but agrees with the average Wall Street analysts' Sell rating.
- Previously, (Nov. 17) Principal Financial downgraded at Evercore on stretched valuation .
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Principal Financial stock slips after Credit Suisse downgrades on limited upside