Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Stock Price

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $153.00 to $147.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.66% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AFG. Weiss Ratings raised American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.75.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $144.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.60. American Financial Group has a 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $148.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Financial Group will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mark Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total value of $407,209.88. Following the sale, the vice president owned 6,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,364.48. This trade represents a 29.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $135,726.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,143.01. This represents a 7.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in American Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $1,079,329,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $102,590,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,939,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position 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 valued at $55,061,000 after purchasing an additional 332,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 433.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 316,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,481,000 after purchasing an additional 257,522 shares during the last quarter. 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.