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Principal Financial (PFG) Q2 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG - Free Report) is slated to report second-quarter 2018 results on Jul 26 after the market closes. Last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive surprise of 3.70%.

Let’s see, how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors to be Considered for Second Quarter

Banking on the diversified business model, solid sales volume as well as client retention, Principal Financial is likely to report bottom-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter. Moreover, a better-than-expected performance at fee, spread and risk businesses might have contributed to this probable upside.

Also, share buybacks, lower tax rate and estimated underlying growth across the businesses are likely to have boosted the company’s bottom line. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.38 per share, reflecting a 5.3% rise from the year-ago quarter.

Owing to the gradual improvement in interest rates, the company has likely witnessed better investment results in the quarter to be reported.

Principal Financial is likely to report top-line growth in the soon-to-be-reported quarter, fueled by its fee-based revenue sources, probable segmental revenue growth and an improved investment income. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $3.6 billion, representing an increase of 9.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Better performance at three of the company’s asset management and asset accumulation segments, mainly owing to an extensive distribution foothold, operational discipline as well as strategic acquisitions are projected to have improved assets under management (AUM).

However, we expect the company to have suffered an increase in total expenses, primarily due to higher benefits, claims and settlement expenses as well as operating costs. This in turn might restrict the company’s desired operating margin expansion.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Principal Financial is likely to beat on earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. But that is not the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: Principal Financial has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at $1.38. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Principal Financial carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), which lowers the predictive power of ESP. We caution against Sell-rated stocks (4 or 5) going into an earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Some other stocks worth considering from the finance sector with the right combination of elements to surpass estimates this time around are as follows:

XL Group Ltd. is set to report second-quarter earnings on Jul 31 and has an Earnings ESP of +6.37%. The company is a Zacks #3 Ranked player. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.09% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is set to announce second-quarter earnings on Aug 1.

American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.68% and a Zacks Rank of 1. The company is set to announce second-quarter earnings on Aug 1.

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