F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded F&G from "hold" to Buy, but analyst sentiment is mixed (two Holds, one Sell) and MarketBeat's consensus rating remains "Reduce" with a $30 average price target.
• F&G materially missed quarterly expectations (EPS $0.91 vs. $1.34 est.; revenue $739M vs. $1.55B est.), yet the board approved a $100M share repurchase program to buy back roughly 3.1% of outstanding shares.
• Insiders increased stakes—CEO bought 10,000 shares at about $20.99 and a director bought 4,760 shares—and institutional ownership is very high (~95.9%), with Millennium Management notably expanding its position.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on FG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered F&G Annuities & Life from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on F&G Annuities & Life from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

F&G Annuities & Life Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FG opened at $28.64 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $24.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.28. F&G Annuities & Life has a 52 week low of $20.57 and a 52 week high of $36.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $739.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. F&G Annuities & Life had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 10.48%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On F&G Annuities & Life

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FG. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life in the 1st quarter valued at $89,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life in the 1st quarter valued at $521,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in F&G Annuities & Life by 4.3% in the 1st 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 grew its stake in F&G Annuities & Life by 330.8% in the 1st 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 stake in F&G Annuities & Life in the 1st quarter valued at $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.86% of the company's stock.

F&G Annuities & Life Company Profile

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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