Caxton Associates LLP Acquires New Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,772 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in American Financial Group by 11.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 75,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,905,000 after purchasing an additional 7,554 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $2,330,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 145.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 144.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 62.4% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In related news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $312,333.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. This represents a 14.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 584,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.0%

AFG stock opened at $143.82 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.62. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $122.11 and a one year high of $150.02.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.54 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AFG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.75.

American Financial Group 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.