Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 26,299 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,601,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Horan Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 2,595 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,648 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,226 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,127 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 11,917 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE AFG traded up $0.81 on Wednesday, reaching $125.34. 95,170 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 502,545. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $125.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.57. The company has a market cap of $10.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.72. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.36). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

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.