Gotham Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position 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 grew its holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) by 30.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 94,701 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,865 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of American Financial Group worth $12,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,882 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 4.9% in the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 144.3% in 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 last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,253 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in American Financial Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,052 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of American Financial Group stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $138.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 424,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 386,916. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.95. The firm has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.73. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.73 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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 downgraded shares of American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.75.

American Financial Group 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.