Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Trims Position in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in American Financial Group by 22.4%, owning 27,658 shares worth $3.63 million after selling 8,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Leading analysts upgraded the stock's rating: Jefferies Financial Group raised its price target from $125.00 to $130.00, indicating a hold rating.
• The company reported EPS of $2.14 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, but with revenue of $1.65 billion falling short of forecasts, showing a 1.3% increase year-over-year.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 22.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,658 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in American Financial Group were worth $3,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 144.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Natixis purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFG traded up $2.3080 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.3680. The company had a trading volume of 66,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,690. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.73 and a twelve month high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.74. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $126.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.93.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, American Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.75.

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.