F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) Price Target Lowered to $27.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays cut its price target on F&G from $31 to $27 and maintained an "equal weight" rating, implying about an 8.1% upside from the stock's recent price.
• F&G missed quarterly expectations (EPS $0.91 vs. $1.34; revenue $739M vs. $1.55B) but announced a $100M share buyback and saw insider purchases by the CEO and a director, signaling management confidence.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Barclays from $31.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's target price points to a potential upside of 8.13% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, F&G Annuities & Life currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $30.00.

F&G Annuities & Life Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE FG traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.97. The company had a trading volume of 163,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,147. F&G Annuities & Life has a fifty-two week low of $20.57 and a fifty-two week high of $37.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $25.28 and its 200 day moving average is $28.83.

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

F&G Annuities & Life declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher O. Blunt bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.99 per share, for a total transaction of $209,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,107,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,238,616.72. The trade was a 0.91% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Celina J. Wang Doka bought 4,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.98 per share, with a total value of $99,864.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 32,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at $672,849.58. This trade represents a 17.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On F&G Annuities & Life

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FG. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life during the first quarter valued at $89,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life during the first quarter valued at $521,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 330.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 217,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,834,000 after acquiring an additional 166,863 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life during the first quarter worth approximately $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.86% of the company's stock.

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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