Norges Bank Purchases New Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 838,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $114,661,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,046,000. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new position in American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $676,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in American Financial Group by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,786 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

AFG stock opened at $128.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.75 and a 12 month high of $150.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.07.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.54 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 33.46%.

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.