F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG) Short Interest Up 28.5% in March

F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 385,100 shares, a growth of 28.5% from the February 28th total of 299,700 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 148,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

F&G Annuities & Life Stock Down 3.2 %

NYSE:FG traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,087,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,766. F&G Annuities & Life has a twelve month low of $32.70 and a twelve month high of $50.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.83.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. F&G Annuities & Life had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 14.14%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that F&G Annuities & Life will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

F&G Annuities & Life Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. F&G Annuities & Life's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.14%.

Insider Activity

In other F&G Annuities & Life news, EVP Michael L. Gravelle purchased 7,000 shares of F&G Annuities & Life stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.00 per share, with a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,207,440. This trade represents a 26.38 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder National Financial I. Fidelity acquired 4,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $151,200,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 110,483,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,712,236,964.80. This trade represents a 4.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 4,530,000 shares of company stock valued at $152,273,820. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in F&G Annuities & Life by 63.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 45,952 shares of the company's stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 17,845 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in F&G Annuities & Life by 527.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,524 shares of the company's stock worth $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 35,750 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,336 shares of the company's stock worth $5,381,000 after buying an additional 22,550 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life in the 3rd quarter valued at $521,000. Finally, Kelly Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life in the 4th quarter valued at $4,144,000. 95.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on F&G Annuities & Life from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th.

About F&G Annuities & Life

F&G Annuities & Life, Inc engages in the provision of fixed annuity and life insurance products. It specializes in life insurance, annuities, retirement planning and wealth transfer. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Des Moines, IA.