American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $150.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. American Financial Group traded as high as $142.85 and last traded at $142.46, with a volume of 12407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.21.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Financial Group from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the second quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in American Financial Group by 402.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 433 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 10,460.0% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.20). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 20.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.93 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a boost from American Financial Group’s previous None dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 29.99%.

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.