American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Downgraded by Citigroup to “Neutral”

Citigroup cut shares of American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has $137.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $144.00.

Separately, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $131.75.

American Financial Group Trading Down 2.0 %

AFG opened at $122.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. American Financial Group has a one year low of $105.22 and a one year high of $137.71. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.86.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Financial Group will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 27.18%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, Director Amy Y. Murray acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $125.17 per share, for a total transaction of $150,204.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,204. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Financial Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AFG. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in American Financial Group by 10,460.0% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 24.5% in the first quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,012 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 3,349 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 8.4% during the first quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 406,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,423,000 after acquiring an additional 31,574 shares during the period. Finally, Burney Co. raised its holdings in American Financial Group by 6.4% during the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 24,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares in 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, 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.