Short Interest in F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG) Increases By 70.5%

F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,542,256 shares, a growth of 70.5% from the December 15th total of 904,498 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 832,696 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 832,696 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

F&G Annuities & Life Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of FG stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.53. The stock had a trading volume of 778,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,082,146. F&G Annuities & Life has a 12-month low of $27.11 and a 12-month high of $47.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.46.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.20. F&G Annuities & Life had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The business had revenue of $737.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. On average, analysts predict that F&G Annuities & Life will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

F&G Annuities & Life Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from F&G Annuities & Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. F&G Annuities & Life’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays set a $31.00 target price on F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut F&G Annuities & Life from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $33.00 target price on F&G Annuities & Life in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, F&G Annuities & Life currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at F&G Annuities & Life

In other F&G Annuities & Life news, CEO Christopher O. Blunt bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.56 per share, for a total transaction of $147,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,117,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,030,225.76. This represents a 0.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,863,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in F&G Annuities & Life by 23.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 365,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,684,000 after buying an additional 69,242 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in F&G Annuities & Life in the second quarter valued at $1,916,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life in the third quarter worth about $1,434,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 5.6% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. 95.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About F&G Annuities & Life

F&G Annuities & Life is the principal life insurance and annuity subsidiary of F&G Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: FG), a publicly traded financial services holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The company focuses on designing and issuing retirement income solutions that address longevity risk, capital preservation, and wealth transfer for individual and institutional clients.

Its product suite includes fixed indexed annuities, which offer the potential for market-linked growth with downside protection; fixed-rate annuities, delivering guaranteed interest over a defined term; and a range of life insurance policies such as term, universal, and variable universal life.