F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. $FG Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group sharply increased its stake in F&G Annuities & Life by 85.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 3.81 million shares worth about $117.5 million. Institutional investors now own the vast majority of the stock, at 95.86%.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results: earnings of $0.82 per share missed expectations, but revenue of $2.25 billion came in well above analyst estimates. Management also authorized a $100 million share buyback, signaling confidence in the stock’s value.
• F&G Annuities & Life declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.6%. Analysts currently hold a consensus “Hold” rating with a target price of $30.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG - Free Report) by 85.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,807,765 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,753,709 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 2.83% of F&G Annuities & Life worth $117,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,742,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,211,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,923,000. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in F&G Annuities & Life by 28.7% in the third quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 223,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,978,000 after purchasing an additional 49,728 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in F&G Annuities & Life by 63.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 25,644 shares during the period. 95.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher O. Blunt acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.99 per share, with a total value of $209,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,107,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,238,616.72. This represents a 0.91% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Celina J. Wang Doka acquired 4,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.98 per share, with a total value of $99,864.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 32,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $672,849.58. This represents a 17.43% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

F&G Annuities & Life Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE FG opened at $28.05 on Wednesday. F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.57 and a twelve month high of $36.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.28.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.08). F&G Annuities & Life had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

F&G Annuities & Life announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

F&G Annuities & Life Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. F&G Annuities & Life's payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on FG shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on F&G Annuities & Life from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded F&G Annuities & Life from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded F&G Annuities & Life to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, F&G Annuities & Life currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.00.

F&G Annuities & Life Company Profile

F&G Annuities & Life is the principal life insurance and annuity subsidiary of F&G Financial Group, Inc NYSE: FG, a publicly traded financial services holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The company focuses on designing and issuing retirement income solutions that address longevity risk, capital preservation, and wealth transfer for individual and institutional clients.

Its product suite includes fixed indexed annuities, which offer the potential for market-linked growth with downside protection; fixed-rate annuities, delivering guaranteed interest over a defined term; and a range of life insurance policies such as term, universal, and variable universal life.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.