SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Acquires New Shares in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $676,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 20,131.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 637,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $87,077,000 after purchasing an additional 633,941 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 12.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,963,942 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $431,906,000 after purchasing an additional 337,573 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 33.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,026,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $149,623,000 after purchasing an additional 255,693 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 58.4% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 621,623 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $90,583,000 after purchasing an additional 229,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 316.8% in the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 198,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,930,000 after purchasing an additional 150,902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

American Financial Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of American Financial Group stock opened at $129.94 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.48 and a 1 year high of $150.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.52. The company has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.54 by ($0.07). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 33.46%.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: AFG) is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.