American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $145.01 and last traded at $144.88, with a volume of 17235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AFG. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

American Financial Group Trading Up 1.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.81. The stock has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.20). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFG. FMR LLC grew its stake in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,501,000 after buying an additional 202,522 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after acquiring an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 251.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 147,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,442,000 after purchasing an additional 105,764 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,486,000 after purchasing an additional 63,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

About American Financial Group

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.