Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stake in F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. $FG

Key Points

• Schwartz Investment Counsel increased its stake in F&G Annuities & Life by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 133,284 shares worth about $4.1 million.
• Several analysts are currently cautious on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold, and the average price target is $30.00 after recent rating changes and a lowered target from Barclays.
• F&G announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share and a $100 million share repurchase program, while its latest earnings missed profit expectations even as revenue came in above estimates.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG - Free Report) by 38.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 133,284 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,900 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.10% of F&G Annuities & Life worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FG. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in F&G Annuities & Life in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 432.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 932 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in F&G Annuities & Life by 83.8% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of F&G Annuities & Life during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,606 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. 95.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial started coverage on F&G Annuities & Life in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of F&G Annuities & Life to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on F&G Annuities & Life from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, F&G Annuities & Life has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

F&G Annuities & Life Price Performance

Shares of FG opened at $28.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.28. F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.57 and a twelve month high of $36.70. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. F&G Annuities & Life had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 8.89%. As a group, research analysts expect that F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

F&G Annuities & Life Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. F&G Annuities & Life's payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

F&G Annuities & Life announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher O. Blunt acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.99 per share, for a total transaction of $209,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,107,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,238,616.72. This trade represents a 0.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Celina J. Wang Doka purchased 4,760 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,864.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,071 shares in the company, valued at $672,849.58. This trade represents a 17.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

F&G Annuities & Life Company Profile

F&G Annuities & Life is the principal life insurance and annuity subsidiary of F&G Financial Group, Inc NYSE: FG, a publicly traded financial services holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The company focuses on designing and issuing retirement income solutions that address longevity risk, capital preservation, and wealth transfer for individual and institutional clients.

Its product suite includes fixed indexed annuities, which offer the potential for market-linked growth with downside protection; fixed-rate annuities, delivering guaranteed interest over a defined term; and a range of life insurance policies such as term, universal, and variable universal life.

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