Xponance Inc. Has $1.62 Million Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,802 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $1,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFG. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 17,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,413,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,282,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,623 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,954,717. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG opened at $125.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.00. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.97 and a 52-week high of $150.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. Sell-side analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.27%.

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.