Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Stock Price

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its price target reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AFG. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 research report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG opened at $129.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.83. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $115.64 and a 52-week 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.20). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 10.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in American Financial Group by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $111,000. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

About American Financial Group

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.