American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

AFG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.00.

American Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $143.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $123.09 and a 52-week high of $150.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.94.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total transaction of $135,726.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,143.01. This represents a 7.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total value 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 17,380 shares of company stock worth $2,390,788 over the last quarter. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in American Financial Group by 13,419.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,769,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,507,045,000 after buying an additional 10,689,563 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,079,329,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $236,645,000 after acquiring an additional 29,731 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $192,395,000 after acquiring an additional 240,509 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,661,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 subsidiaries, the company primarily underwrites specialty property and casualty insurance and sells annuity products.

Its property and casualty operations serve businesses, organizations and individuals through specialized products that include commercial transportation, agricultural and crop insurance, workers’ compensation, casualty coverage, financial institution insurance, surety and fidelity bonds, marine insurance, travel insurance and public-sector coverage.