Wells Fargo & Company Cuts American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Price Target to $155.00

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $160.00 to $155.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

AFG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.00.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

AFG opened at $130.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.69. American Financial Group has a twelve month low of $120.52 and a twelve month high of $150.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $129.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.30% and a return on equity of 18.64%. American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Financial Group will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 34.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,663 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.70, for a total value of $222,343.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,614,160.10. The trade was a 12.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Financial Group by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 278,279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,551,000 after buying an additional 20,554 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in American Financial Group by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 335,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,914,000 after buying an additional 29,593 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,790,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in American Financial Group by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,127,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $164,293,000 after buying an additional 110,872 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,432,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.