American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Short Interest Down 8.4% in June

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) saw a significant drop in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 856,200 shares, a drop of 8.4% from the May 31st total of 934,600 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 249,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $144.00 to $137.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, Director Amy Y. Murray purchased 1,200 shares of the business’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 directly owns 1,200 shares in the company, valued at $150,204. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFG. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 769 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,012 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 3,349 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 406,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,423,000 after purchasing an additional 31,574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE AFG opened at $122.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $105.22 and a 52-week high of $137.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $128.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.99. The firm has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.79.

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

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.18%.

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.