Sowell Financial Services LLC Makes New Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,148 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 14,045 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,127,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 8.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 7,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,566,000 after purchasing an additional 207,285 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,875,000. 64.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on American Financial Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.75.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

American Financial Group stock traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.80. 703,172 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,339. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.73. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.73 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.