Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $12.44 Million Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 30%, acquiring an additional 21,865 shares, bringing its total ownership to about 94,701 shares valued at $12.4 million.
• American Financial Group reported earnings of $2.14 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.3%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, which represents an annualized yield of 2.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 35.16%.

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 30.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,701 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,865 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of American Financial Group worth $12,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 144.3% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on 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 cut American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $136.75.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.71. 56,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 496,006. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.73 and a twelve month high of $150.19. The company has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.73. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.16.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 business earned $2.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,883,106.30. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

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.