American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Shares Break Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG – Get Free Report)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $137.29 and traded as high as $142.99. American Financial Group shares last traded at $141.0920, with a volume of 259,913 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AFG shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.00.

View Our Latest Report on AFG

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.29. The company has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.59.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.50. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total transaction of $135,726.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 11,123 shares in the company, valued at $1,589,143.01. This represents a 7.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total transaction of $407,209.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,364.48. This trade represents a 29.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in American Financial Group by 135.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 264 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

American Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group businesses, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance products, with an emphasis on specialty commercial markets that require specialized underwriting expertise.

Its insurance offerings include coverage for commercial transportation, agriculture, workers’ compensation, excess and surplus risks, environmental exposures, inland marine, and other niche industries.

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