Piper Sandler Raises American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Price Target to $135.00

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) had its price objective raised by Piper Sandler from $129.00 to $135.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Separately, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $135.00.

American Financial Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of American Financial Group stock opened at $130.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. American Financial Group has a 12-month low of $105.22 and a 12-month high of $137.71.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 21.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 10.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 27.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Financial Group news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total transaction of $135,455.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,511.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total value of $135,455.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,511.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James E. Evans sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.64, for a total transaction of $292,527.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 105,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,546,049.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,667 shares of company stock worth $1,228,450. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,798 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $673,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

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.