Kestra Advisory Services LLC Makes New $920,000 Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC has made a new investment of approximately $920,000 in American Financial Group, purchasing 7,006 shares during the first quarter, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in American Financial Group, with Jane Street Group boosting its holdings by 759.1% last quarter.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on American Financial Group, with some lowering their price targets while the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with an average target of $136.75.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,006 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $920,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFG. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 759.1% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 17,181 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,353,000 after buying an additional 15,181 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $662,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 189,379 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,932,000 after purchasing an additional 70,218 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 83.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 229,348 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,405,000 after purchasing an additional 104,170 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 117.7% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,379 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $136.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,883,106.30. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE AFG opened at $136.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.38. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 9.21%.American Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. On average, analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

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.

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