BUZZ-Principal Financial rises on higher Q4 operating profit

** Shares of insurer and asset manager Principal Financial Group PFG.O rise nearly 2% to $81.6 in afternoon trading

** Company posts Q4 adjusted operating profit of $1.94 per share vs $1.83 per share a year ago

** PFG's premium and fees from its specialty benefits business climb 4% to $823.6 million

** Assets under management rise 3% to $712.1 billion

** Net investment income for the quarter falls marginally to $1.12 billion, from $1.13 billion a year ago

** 4 of 15 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 8 "hold" and 3 "sell"; their median PT is $90 — LSEG

** The stock fell 1.6% in 2024, compared to a 23% jump in the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX