Sowell Financial Services LLC Takes Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,148 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Financial Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,134,857,000 after buying an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,595,346 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $218,146,000 after acquiring an additional 42,139 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 996,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,481,000 after purchasing an additional 63,193 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $122,419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG stock traded down $3.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $122.64. The stock had a trading volume of 489,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,936. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.72. American Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $114.73 and a one year high of $150.19. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $124.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.42.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 9.66%. The business's revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on American Financial Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.75.

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.