American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Trading Down 5.6% After Earnings Miss

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) was down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $129.05 and last traded at $128.44. Approximately 45,098 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 285,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.02.

The insurance provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFG shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $165.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,566,000 after purchasing an additional 207,285 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 3.8% in the third 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 78.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,832,000 after buying an additional 146,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after buying an additional 104,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.81. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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.