Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 4,966 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,051 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $4,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AFG. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,501,000 after acquiring an additional 202,522 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $83,209,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $67,719,000 after buying an additional 39,623 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AFG. Piper Sandler upped their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:AFG opened at $127.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.93. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.97 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.83.

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

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.27%.

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.