UPDATE 1-Principal Financial's Q4 profit misses Street

* Q4 oper EPS $0.62 vs est EPS $0.65

* Q4 EPS $0.44 vs net loss $0.03/shr last yr

* Total revenue down 2 percent to $2.23 bln

Feb 8 (Reuters) - Insurer Principal Financial Group Inc's (PFG.N) quarterly profit missed analysts' view, hurt by a decline in premiums and fees.

Net income available to common shareholders was $141.9 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $7.5 million, or 3 cents a share, last year.

Operating income, which excludes realized losses and gains, was $200.9 million, or 62 cents a share, down from $179 million, or 69 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were looking for a profit of 65 cents a share, before items, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Principal, a provider of life and health insurance and retirement investment products, said total revenue fell 2 percent to $2.23 billion.

Premiums declined to $930.1 million, from $950.3 million in the previous year. Revenue from fees was lower by 6 percent at $556.6 million.

Shares of the company closed at $22.19 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Brenton Cordeiro in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)