F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded F&G Annuities & Life from "buy" to "hold," joining other firms that cut ratings or targets; the stock's consensus on MarketBeat is an average rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $30.00.
• The company posted a weak quarter, reporting $0.91 EPS versus $1.34 expected and revenue of $739 million vs. $1.55 billion estimated, and the stock fell about 3.9% to open near $24.03.
• Despite the misses, the board approved a $100 million share buyback (about 3.1% of shares) and insiders including the CEO and a director purchased stock near $21, signaling management confidence.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FG. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of F&G Annuities & Life from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $30.00.

F&G Annuities & Life Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE FG opened at $24.03 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. F&G Annuities & Life has a 1 year low of $20.57 and a 1 year high of $36.70.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.43). F&G Annuities & Life had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 4.62%.The firm had revenue of $739.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that F&G Annuities & Life will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

F&G Annuities & Life announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at F&G Annuities & Life

In other F&G Annuities & Life news, Director Celina J. Wang Doka bought 4,760 shares of F&G Annuities & Life stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.98 per share, with a total value of $99,864.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 32,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $672,849.58. This represents a 17.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher O. Blunt bought 10,000 shares of F&G Annuities & Life stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.99 per share, with a total value of $209,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,107,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,238,616.72. The trade was a 0.91% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 6.7% in the third quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. 95.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About F&G Annuities & Life

F&G Annuities & Life is the principal life insurance and annuity subsidiary of F&G Financial Group, Inc NYSE: FG, a publicly traded financial services holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The company focuses on designing and issuing retirement income solutions that address longevity risk, capital preservation, and wealth transfer for individual and institutional clients.

Its product suite includes fixed indexed annuities, which offer the potential for market-linked growth with downside protection; fixed-rate annuities, delivering guaranteed interest over a defined term; and a range of life insurance policies such as term, universal, and variable universal life.

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