Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Raises Stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 9,300.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,394 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 836,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $102,921,000 after buying an additional 7,797 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 576,174 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $70,881,000 after buying an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 492,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,528,000 after buying an additional 38,937 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 431,218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,048,000 after buying an additional 11,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 406,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,423,000 after buying an additional 31,574 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AFG opened at $136.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $133.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.72. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.22 and a twelve month high of $138.81. The stock has a market cap of $11.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.11. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 11.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $144.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Financial Group from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

About American Financial Group

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.