First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE:AEL – Get Rating) by 62.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,877 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.22% of American Equity Investment Life worth $8,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in American Equity Investment Life by 103.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in American Equity Investment Life during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Equity Investment Life by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in American Equity Investment Life by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in American Equity Investment Life during the 1st quarter worth $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AEL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Equity Investment Life from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Raymond James reduced their target price on American Equity Investment Life from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of American Equity Investment Life in a report on Thursday, April 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on American Equity Investment Life in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on American Equity Investment Life from $39.00 to $44.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Equity Investment Life

In related news, Director Alan David Matula purchased 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $35.50 per share, with a total value of $252,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 39,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,417,941. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Equity Investment Life Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEL opened at $39.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.79. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.88. American Equity Investment Life Holding has a 12-month low of $28.05 and a 12-month high of $48.37.

American Equity Investment Life (NYSE:AEL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $662.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.02 million. American Equity Investment Life had a return on equity of 12.84% and a net margin of 25.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 348.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Equity Investment Life Holding will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

American Equity Investment Life Profile

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American Equity Investment Life Holding Co engages in the development and sale of fixed index and fixed rate annuity products. It focuses on the following portfolios: commercial mortgage loans, agricultural mortgage loans, and residential mortgage loans. The company was founded by David J. Noble on December 15, 1995 and is headquartered in West Des Moines, IA.