Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,669 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,623 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,289,000 after buying an additional 14,045 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 151,771 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,782,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,837 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,127,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,566,000 after purchasing an additional 207,285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of AFG opened at $125.19 on Monday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month high of $150.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 10.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.76 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

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.

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