Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 63.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 423,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 163,671 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $50,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 132.5% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $129.00 price target on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,490,012. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Lehman John I. Von sold 1,773 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.48, for a total transaction of $222,476.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,799.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $626,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,490,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,746. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AFG opened at $127.34 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $105.22 and a 1 year high of $137.71. The stock has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.68 and a 200 day moving average of $120.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 22.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.26%.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers' compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance.