Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 487.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,310 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $3,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 5.7% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 151,888 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,398,000 after buying an additional 8,220 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 48,326 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,172,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $278,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 3,061 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total transaction of $1,535,518.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at $78,882,434.90. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $312,333.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,765. This trade represents a 14.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,430 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,061 in the last quarter. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $145.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $138.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.33. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.09 and a twelve month high of $150.02.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.50. The company 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 20.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.77%.

American Financial Group Profile

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.