BMO Capital Markets Raises American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Price Target to $143.00

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from $135.00 to $143.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG stock opened at $139.62 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $134.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.37. The stock has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.79. American Financial Group has a 1 year low of $108.39 and a 1 year high of $144.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.53.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 10.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous None dividend of $1.00. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 29.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 29.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 11.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,528,000 after purchasing an additional 6,272 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 7.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 35,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,744,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 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.