1,639 Shares in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Acquired by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in American Financial Group by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 836,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $102,921,000 after acquiring an additional 7,797 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in American Financial Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 576,174 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $70,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in American Financial Group by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 492,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,528,000 after acquiring an additional 38,937 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in American Financial Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 431,218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,048,000 after acquiring an additional 11,897 shares during the period. Finally, EULAV Asset Management increased its stake in American Financial Group by 8.4% during the 1st 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. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AFG opened at $129.41 on Monday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.62 and a 52-week high of $138.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $134.18 and its 200-day moving average is $129.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.78.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.11. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 11.06%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Financial Group from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

American Financial Group 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.