Viking Fund Management LLC Makes New Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 41,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,385,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AFG. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $504,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $777,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 256.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 11,148.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 119,125 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,646,000 after buying an additional 118,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,052 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

AFG traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $123.88. The stock had a trading volume of 515,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,066. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $125.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.53. The stock has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

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.