F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $31.00 target price on F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded F&G Annuities & Life from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, F&G Annuities & Life presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $32.00.

F&G Annuities & Life Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:FG opened at $23.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. F&G Annuities & Life has a twelve month low of $20.57 and a twelve month high of $37.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.68.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.43). F&G Annuities & Life had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $739.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that F&G Annuities & Life will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

F&G Annuities & Life declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other F&G Annuities & Life news, CEO Christopher O. Blunt bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.99 per share, for a total transaction of $209,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,107,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,238,616.72. This represents a 0.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Celina J. Wang Doka purchased 4,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,864.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 32,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,849.58. The trade was a 17.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 19,760 shares of company stock worth $457,565. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of F&G Annuities & Life

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $989,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 12,227.8% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 13,206 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,593 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Hahn Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of F&G Annuities & Life during the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,000. 95.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About F&G Annuities & Life

F&G Annuities & Life is the principal life insurance and annuity subsidiary of F&G Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: FG), a publicly traded financial services holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The company focuses on designing and issuing retirement income solutions that address longevity risk, capital preservation, and wealth transfer for individual and institutional clients.

Its product suite includes fixed indexed annuities, which offer the potential for market-linked growth with downside protection; fixed-rate annuities, delivering guaranteed interest over a defined term; and a range of life insurance policies such as term, universal, and variable universal life.