Argent Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $4,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in American Financial Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,501,000 after buying an additional 202,522 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in American Financial Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after buying an additional 104,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Financial Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,699,000 after buying an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in American Financial Group by 8.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,719,000 after buying an additional 39,623 shares during the period. Finally, EULAV Asset Management lifted its position in American Financial Group by 9.4% during the third quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 498,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,128,000 after buying an additional 42,902 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on American Financial Group from $165.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

American Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE AFG opened at $136.24 on Thursday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $115.64 and a one year high of $150.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $139.26 and a 200 day moving average of $133.63. The company has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.20). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.74 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 29.99%.

About American Financial Group

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.