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

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $144.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock, down from their previous price objective of $164.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on AFG. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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.

American Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE AFG traded up $0.68 on Friday, reaching $127.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 491,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,898. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $136.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.93. American Financial Group has a 52 week low of $118.97 and a 52 week high of $150.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. American Financial Group's payout ratio is 30.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Financial Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 86.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 340 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in American Financial Group by 91.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in American Financial Group by 301.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 702 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.