American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG Shares Bought by Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 23.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,012 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $1,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in American Financial Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.9% in the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 15.6% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 776 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,883,106.30. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Down 1.1%

AFG opened at $132.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.73 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $138.69 and a 200-day moving average of $130.28.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 9.21%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AFG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.75.

American Financial Group 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.