American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $155.11 and last traded at $153.4260, with a volume of 20,491 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on American Financial Group from $175.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on American Financial Group from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.75.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.59.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, VP Mark Weiss sold 2,813 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total value of $407,209.88. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,364.48. The trade was a 29.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brian Hertzman sold 950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total transaction of $135,726.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 11,123 shares in the company, valued at $1,589,143.01. This trade represents a 7.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFG. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in American Financial Group by 433.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 316,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,481,000 after acquiring an additional 257,522 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $6,760,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,121,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 281.1% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 28,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dockside LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,195,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE:AFG) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group operations, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance, with an emphasis on specialty commercial products and markets.

Its insurance offerings serve businesses, organizations and individuals across a range of industries. Product lines have included commercial property and liability coverage, workers’ compensation, transportation, agriculture and crop insurance, marine and other specialty risks.