Strs Ohio Takes Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has purchased 13,848 shares of American Financial Group, Inc. for approximately $1.82 million, marking a new position for the fund in the insurance provider's stock.
• American Financial Group reported $2.14 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.08, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.3% to $1.65 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 35.16%.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 13,848 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFG. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan lifted its stake in 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 valued at $343,707,000 after purchasing an additional 23,228 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 395.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $331,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012,027 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in American Financial Group by 1.5% during the 1st 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. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 820,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $107,824,000 after purchasing an additional 18,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 707,682 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $92,947,000 after purchasing an additional 54,204 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AFG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.75.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 326,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AFG traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,253,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,065. The business's 50-day moving average is $132.10 and its 200-day moving average is $127.77. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.73. American Financial Group, Inc. 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 analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 9.21%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.16%.

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.