Advisors Preferred LLC Acquires New Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AFG. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 17,795 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 6,842 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,027,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in American Financial Group by 55.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 151,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Finally, Vision Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of 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 Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of AFG stock opened at $126.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.56 and a 12-month high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. Research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.27%.

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.