EntryPoint Capital LLC Invests $288,000 in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• EntryPoint Capital LLC has invested $288,000 in American Financial Group, Inc., acquiring 2,189 shares during the first quarter.
• American Financial Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.14 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.08, although revenues were slightly below estimates at $1.65 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.4%, and maintains a solid payout ratio of 35.16%.

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,189 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,875,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,339,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $329,000. Natixis acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,175 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 5,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Financial Group news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 326,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,883,106.30. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

AFG stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $135.94. 98,466 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,083. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $127.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.07. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.73 and a 52 week high of $150.19. The company has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.74.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.75.

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.