Values First Advisors Inc. Buys 374 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Values First Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. American Financial Group accounts for about 1.1% of Values First Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 132.5% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 44.8% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFG shares. Piper Sandler lowered shares of American Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $129.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy 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 $133.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,490,012. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,490,012. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.81, for a total transaction of $260,340.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,157,132.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,746. 14.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE AFG traded down $0.32 on Friday, hitting $136.48. 208,508 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 357,635. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.78. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.22 and a 52-week high of $137.71.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 22.14%. American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $2.50 per share. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous None dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 28.26%.

American Financial Group Profile

American Financial Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers' compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance.