Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY Takes $903,000 Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY bought a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $903,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,079,329,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,567,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $350,956,000 after acquiring an additional 57,246 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,732,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,645,000 after acquiring an additional 29,731 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 19.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,506,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $192,395,000 after purchasing an additional 240,509 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 33.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,026,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $149,623,000 after purchasing an additional 255,693 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on AFG shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.00.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total value of $407,209.88. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,364.48. This trade represents a 29.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total transaction of $1,535,518.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 584,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 16,430 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,061 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $144.39 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $150.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.55.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

American Financial Group Company 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.