American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Stock Rating Lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $144.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $164.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AFG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of American Financial Group stock opened at $126.42 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $136.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.77. American Financial Group has a 1 year low of $117.56 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.83.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. Analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,832,000 after buying an additional 146,237 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,833,000 after acquiring an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 166.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 4,418 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 31,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.