American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $150.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. American Financial Group traded as high as $142.85 and last traded at $142.46, with a volume of 12407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.21.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Financial Group from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,501,000 after buying an additional 202,522 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 836,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $102,921,000 after buying an additional 7,797 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 576,174 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $70,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 8.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 9.4% during the third quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 498,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,128,000 after purchasing an additional 42,902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.20). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 19.97%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous None dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.99%.

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.