American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Stock Price Target Lowered at Wells Fargo & Company

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $175.00 to $166.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AFG. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.75.

American Financial Group Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $143.88 on Monday. American Financial Group has a 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $148.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $142.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.47.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 33.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, CFO Brian Hertzman sold 950 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total transaction of $135,726.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 11,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,143.01. The trade was a 7.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total transaction of $407,209.88. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,364.48. The trade was a 29.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,079,329,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $192,395,000 after acquiring an additional 240,509 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $102,590,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 525,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,136,000 after acquiring an additional 56,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 337.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 431,144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,061,000 after acquiring an additional 332,517 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group businesses, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance products, with an emphasis on specialty commercial markets that require specialized underwriting expertise.

Its insurance offerings include coverage for commercial transportation, agriculture, workers’ compensation, excess and surplus risks, environmental exposures, inland marine, and other niche industries.