LSV Asset Management Cuts Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

LSV Asset Management cut its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,100,770 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 158,704 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 1.31% of American Financial Group worth $130,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 170,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,300,000 after purchasing an additional 12,392 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 1,804.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,491,000 after purchasing an additional 91,577 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 417,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,687,000 after buying an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1,096.3% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 20,481 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,287,000 after buying an additional 18,769 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $692,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $129.00 price target on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.50.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFG traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $127.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 246,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,413. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.22 and a 52-week high of $137.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $129.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $317,650.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,553 shares in the company, valued at $959,684.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other American Financial Group news, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $317,650.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,553 shares in the company, valued at $959,684.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,490,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,843 shares of company stock worth $1,854,746. 14.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.