American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, with a current consensus price target of $136.75.
• Jefferies Financial Group raised its price target on the stock to $130.00, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered theirs to $124.00, indicating mixed analyst sentiment.
• The company reported $2.14 earnings per share in its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, although revenue of $1.65 billion was slightly below the consensus estimate.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on AFG. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.75.

American Financial Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AFG traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $140.99. The company had a trading volume of 475,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,854. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.66. The stock has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.73. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Financial Group will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.16%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,883,106.30. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan now owns 2,616,928 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $343,707,000 after acquiring an additional 23,228 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,565,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $323,782,000 after purchasing an additional 44,710 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 983,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $129,147,000 after purchasing an additional 14,265 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $106,707,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 820,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $107,824,000 after purchasing an additional 18,886 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company's stock.

About American Financial Group

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.