Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 237,514 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 17,235 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.28% of American Financial Group worth $32,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 8.0% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 278,279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,551,000 after buying an additional 20,554 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 9.7% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 335,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,914,000 after buying an additional 29,593 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 10.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,127,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $164,293,000 after buying an additional 110,872 shares during the last quarter. Capula Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $2,087,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 32.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,772 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,421,000 after buying an additional 99,898 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.00.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $129.94 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.48 and a twelve month high of $150.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.16 and its 200 day moving average is $132.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.65.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.54 by ($0.07). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.46%.

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.