EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $225,000 Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 302.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 51,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,337,000 after purchasing an additional 38,718 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 433 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 343.1% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 34,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,292,000 after acquiring an additional 27,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $276,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AFG. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $139.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.82. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.64 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 earnings per share 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 19.97%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $4.00 dividend. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous None dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.