Short Interest in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Rises By 9.3%

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 725,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the July 15th total of 663,600 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 274,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $129.35. The company had a trading volume of 77,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 301,675. The company has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.53. American Financial Group has a 1-year low of $105.22 and a 1-year high of $137.71.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Financial Group will post 10.97 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 27.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Financial Group news, Director Amy Y. Murray purchased 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $125.17 per share, for a total transaction of $150,204.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,204. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Financial Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in American Financial Group by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 170,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,300,000 after purchasing an additional 12,392 shares during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,972,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in American Financial Group by 13.3% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Financial Group by 40.0% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 25,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 7,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in American Financial Group by 360.7% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 21,261 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AFG shares. Citigroup lowered shares of American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $144.00 to $137.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.75.

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.