American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Price Target Raised to $140.00

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $134.00 to $140.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 10.76% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AFG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.25.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG stock traded down $1.34 on Wednesday, reaching $126.40. 98,296 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 677,811. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.61 and a 200-day moving average of $134.78. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. American Financial Group has a twelve month low of $114.73 and a twelve month high of $150.02.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 10.30%.The company’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Financial Group will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,663 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.70, for a total value of $222,343.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,614,160.10. This represents a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $106,707,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in American Financial Group by 20,131.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 637,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $87,077,000 after buying an additional 633,941 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC increased its position in American Financial Group by 100,006.8% in the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 600,641 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $82,096,000 after buying an additional 600,041 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 12.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,963,942 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $431,906,000 after acquiring an additional 337,573 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $43,832,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Company 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.