American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $151.00 and last traded at $150.9750, with a volume of 32,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFG. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $175.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.75.

American Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $143.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th were paid a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 15th. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.92%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total value of $135,726.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,589,143.01. The trade was a 7.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total transaction of $407,209.88. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,079,329,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $102,590,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in American Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $53,939,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in American Financial Group by 337.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 431,144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,061,000 after purchasing an additional 332,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in American Financial Group by 433.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 316,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,481,000 after purchasing an additional 257,522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE:AFG) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group operations, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance, with an emphasis on specialty commercial products and markets.

Its insurance offerings serve businesses, organizations and individuals across a range of industries. Product lines have included commercial property and liability coverage, workers’ compensation, transportation, agriculture and crop insurance, marine and other specialty risks.