American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in American Financial Group by 54.6% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 52,215 shares valued at about $7.1 million.
• Other institutional investors were active as well, but overall hedge funds and institutions still own 64.37% of AFG shares.
• Analysts currently have a Hold consensus on AFG, with a consensus price target of $145; the stock recently traded at $131.36 and the company also pays a quarterly dividend yielding about 2.7%.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 54.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 62,671 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.06% of American Financial Group worth $7,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFG. JB Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 4,268 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 11.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 884 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 12.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 863 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,935 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $145.00.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG stock opened at $131.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.66 and a 200-day moving average of $131.93. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.98 and a 12-month high of $150.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.64.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.54 by ($0.07). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.46%.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc NYSE: AFG is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.

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