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Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) Intrinsic Value & Margin of Safety | SafetyMargin.io

Financial Services › Asset Management

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) Stock Overview

Market Cap: $18.87B

Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments.

Mar 19, 2026$85.90

1Y +1.8%

Rewards

★Free cash flow has grown at a 13.2% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
★Share count has been reduced by 11% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
★FCF yield of 23.5% is historically attractive — the business generates significant cash relative to its price.

Risks

⚠Principal Financial Group, Inc. scores only 20/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.15 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.

PFG Key Valuation Metrics

Free Cash Flow

$4.44B

FCF Yield

23.52%

Trailing P/E

16.36

Forward P/E

8.37

ROIC

10.42%

ROE

9.56%

Gross Margin

44.24%

PEG Ratio

N/A

Debt / Equity

0.35

Interest Coverage

N/A

Net Debt / EBITDA

-0.79

Dividend Yield

3.64%

PFG Historical Fundamentals

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

PFG $1 Retained Earnings Test

Market Value

$-0.89

created per $1 retained

Market Cap Declined

Earning Power

$-28.12

created per $1 retained

Earning Power Declined

Σ Retained

$1.41B

Δ Market Cap

$-1.26B

Δ Earning Power

$-39.69B

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 retained, how much value did management create?
Market Value = market's verdict (mood-sensitive) · Earning Power = owner earnings / discount rate (mood-independent)

PFG Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

35.2% Margin of Safety

Price is 35.2% below estimated fair value

Current Price: $85.90

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $132.52

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

Parameter	Min (Bear)Value	BaseValue	Max (Bull)Value
Initial Cash Flow
Growth Rate (Yr 1-5)	%	%	%
Growth Rate (Yr 6-10)	%	%	%
Terminal Growth Rate	%	%	%
Discount Rate	%	%	%
	Bear Case $98.41 Implied EV: $20.25B	Base Case $132.52 Implied EV: $27.75B	Bull Case $164.56 Implied EV: $34.79B

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $86?

+3.6%

Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth

Standard FCF implies -16.0%

The market implies +3.6% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding -16.0%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

PFG Economic Moat Score

20/100

No Moat

70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though reinvestment efficiency shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

PFG Forensic Accounting

-2.51

Unlikely Manipulator

Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

PFG Management & Board

Ms. Deanna Dawnette Strable-Soethout

President, CEO & Chair of the Board · Age 56

$2.53M

total pay

Mr. Joel Michael Pitz

Executive VP & CFO · Age 51

$792,557

total pay

Ms. Amy Christine Friedrich

President of Benefits & Protection · Age 54

$1.97M

total pay

Mr. Christopher James Littlefield

President of Retirement & Income Solutions · Age 58

$2.10M

total pay

Ms. Kathleen B. Kay

Executive VP & Chief Information Officer · Age 62

Mr. Humphrey Lee

VP & Head of Investor Relations

Ms. Noreen M. Fierro

Senior VP and Enterprise Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer · Age 60

Mr. George Djurasovic

VP & Interim General Counsel · Age 54

Ms. Bethany A. Wood

Executive VP & Chief Marketing Officer · Age 60

Ms. Lisa M. Coulson

Chief Human Resources Officer & Senior VP

PFG Ownership

Insiders 1.1%Institutions 75.6%Retail & Other 23.3%

No. of Institutional Holders1,206

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

PFG Insider Buying Activity

0

Buys (3M)

0

Buys (12M)

No open market insider purchases found.

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

PFG Insider Selling Activity

2

Sells (3M)

3

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $1.74M

STRABLE-SOETHOUT DEANNA D

Chief Executive Officer

$697,300

@ $95.00 · 2026-01-30

STRABLE-SOETHOUT DEANNA D

Chief Executive Officer

$884,616

@ $95.12 · 2026-01-29

CHEONG WEE YEE

Officer

$160,470

@ $85.04 · 2025-11-12

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

PFG 🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

😐Neutral(46/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

PFG ⚖️ Buffett Signal

⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (46)

PFG Investment Checklist & Notes

Do I understand this business?

Does it have a durable competitive advantage (moat)?

Is management honest and competent?

Is management allocating capital rationally?

Is the price reasonable (margin of safety)?

Is this within my circle of competence?

Auto-saved • Last updated: 3/20/2026, 4:30:28 AM

PFG Insider Buying Activity

0

Buys (3M)

0

Buys (12M)

No open market insider purchases found.

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

PFG Insider Selling Activity

2

Sells (3M)

3

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $1.74M

STRABLE-SOETHOUT DEANNA D

Chief Executive Officer

$697,300

@ $95.00 · 2026-01-30

STRABLE-SOETHOUT DEANNA D

Chief Executive Officer

$884,616

@ $95.12 · 2026-01-29

CHEONG WEE YEE

Officer

$160,470

@ $85.04 · 2025-11-12

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

PFG Investment Checklist & Notes

Do I understand this business?

Does it have a durable competitive advantage (moat)?

Is management honest and competent?

Is management allocating capital rationally?

Is the price reasonable (margin of safety)?

Is this within my circle of competence?

Auto-saved • Last updated: 3/20/2026, 4:30:28 AM