American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $165.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on American Financial Group from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.50.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $131.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.70. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $150.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $136.44 and its 200-day moving average is $134.71.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.34. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Financial Group will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.51, for a total transaction of $253,240.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,610,363. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in American Financial Group by 72.5% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 57,894 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,249,000 after purchasing an additional 24,334 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,790,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 64,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,152,000 after buying an additional 9,263 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 306,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,630,000 after buying an additional 28,626 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in American Financial Group by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 94,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,963,000 after buying an additional 23,838 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: AFG) is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.