Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 4,460 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 60.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,460 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,625,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 15.4% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,298,992 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $400,828,000 after purchasing an additional 440,104 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 511.9% in the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 432,083 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $52,498,000 after purchasing an additional 361,472 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in American Financial Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,544,354 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,098,609,000 after acquiring an additional 313,115 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in American Financial Group by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 701,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $96,370,000 after acquiring an additional 290,140 shares during the period. 63.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AFG shares. StockNews.com started coverage on American Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $129.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

American Financial Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $108.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.22 and a 12-month high of $149.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.96 and its 200 day moving average is $114.67.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.47 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 22.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous None dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 10th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.95%.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It 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.