Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for AFG Earnings

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of American Financial Group in a research report issued on Monday, February 3rd. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the insurance provider will earn $3.15 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $3.19. The consensus estimate for American Financial Group's current full-year earnings is $10.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Financial Group's Q4 2025 earnings at $3.23 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $11.59 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.40 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.93 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $12.46 EPS.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last released 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%.

AFG has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of American Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday.

American Financial Group Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE AFG traded down $2.23 on Thursday, hitting $126.42. The stock had a trading volume of 660,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 364,639. The business's fifty day moving average price is $136.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $117.56 and a 52-week high of $150.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in American Financial Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,566,000 after buying an additional 207,285 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,832,000 after purchasing an additional 146,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

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