American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) PT Raised to $150.00 at Citigroup

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its target price boosted by Citigroup from $139.00 to $150.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler downgraded American Financial Group from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $129.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on American Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a buy rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $133.50.

American Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE AFG opened at $136.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $125.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.75. American Financial Group has a 1 year low of $105.22 and a 1 year high of $137.03. The company has a market cap of $11.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.78.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 11.02 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $2.50 per share. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous None dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total transaction of $135,455.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,511.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Lehman John I. Von sold 1,773 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.48, for a total transaction of $222,476.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,548,799.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total transaction of $135,455.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,583 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,511.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,746. Company insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFG. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 132.5% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Financial Group Company Profile

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.