American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Receives $136.75 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $136.75.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFG opened at $148.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.14. American Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $114.73 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. American Financial Group’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Financial Group will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 326,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 17.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 9.7% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $7,747,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 12.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Company Profile

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