American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its price target decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $153.00 to $147.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

AFG has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.75.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG opened at $145.57 on Monday. American Financial Group has a 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $148.71. The company has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.44 and a 200-day moving average of $137.71.

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

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, CFO Brian Hertzman sold 950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total value of $135,726.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 11,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,143.01. This represents a 7.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total transaction of $407,209.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,364.48. The trade was a 29.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $2,567,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 433.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 316,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,481,000 after buying an additional 257,522 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $6,760,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $1,121,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 281.1% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 28,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after buying an additional 20,832 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group businesses, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance products, with an emphasis on specialty commercial markets that require specialized underwriting expertise.

Its insurance offerings include coverage for commercial transportation, agriculture, workers’ compensation, excess and surplus risks, environmental exposures, inland marine, and other niche industries.