Empowered Funds LLC Purchases Shares of 15,812 American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,812 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,213,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 75,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,905,000 after purchasing an additional 7,554 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in American Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $2,330,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in American Financial Group by 145.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in American Financial Group by 144.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in American Financial Group by 62.4% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AFG opened at $142.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.09 and a 52 week high of $150.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.24.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.50. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at $78,882,434.90. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 2,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $312,333.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,825,765. This represents a 14.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,380 shares of company stock valued at $2,390,788. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AFG. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.00.

American Financial Group Profile

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: AFG) is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.