Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires New Shares in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 89,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,624,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.11% of American Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,554 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,330,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 145.8% in 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 boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 144.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 62.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

AFG opened at $143.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.62. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $150.02.

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

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other news, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total value of $407,209.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,364.48. This represents a 29.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $78,882,434.90. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,430 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,061 over the last quarter. 16.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.