American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Short Interest Down 9.9% in October

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 893,100 shares, a decline of 9.9% from the October 15th total of 991,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 291,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG traded down $1.22 on Tuesday, hitting $138.42. 418,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 304,880. 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 12 month low of $108.39 and a 12 month high of $144.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $134.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.37.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 19.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 10.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFG. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 37,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,145,000 after purchasing an additional 4,420 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 360.7% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,706,000 after acquiring an additional 21,261 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 308.5% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 24,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,286,000 after purchasing an additional 18,185 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $987,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in 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 worth $6,337,000 after acquiring an additional 38,718 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AFG. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on 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 boosted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday.

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.