Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys New Stake in F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. $FG

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group acquired a new stake of 39,266 shares in F&G (~$1.21M); overall institutional ownership of the stock is high at 95.86% with other funds (e.g., Millennium, AQR) also adjusting positions.
• F&G posted a quarterly miss with EPS $0.91 vs. $1.34 expected and revenue $739M vs. $1.55B est., and analyst sentiment has weakened to an average "Reduce" rating with a $30 consensus target.
• The company is returning capital via a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annual $1.00, ~3.7% yield, DPR ~54.6%) and approved a $100M share buyback authorization (~3.1% of shares).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 39,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FG. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in F&G Annuities & Life in the 1st quarter valued at $89,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in F&G Annuities & Life in the 1st quarter valued at $521,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in F&G Annuities & Life by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in F&G Annuities & Life by 330.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 217,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,834,000 after buying an additional 166,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in F&G Annuities & Life in the 1st quarter valued at $276,000. 95.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

F&G Annuities & Life Stock Performance

NYSE FG opened at $27.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.28. The company's fifty day moving average is $24.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.50. F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.57 and a 52-week high of $36.70.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $739.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. F&G Annuities & Life had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 4.62%. Equities research analysts forecast that F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

F&G Annuities & Life Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. F&G Annuities & Life's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.64%.

F&G Annuities & Life declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FG shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of F&G Annuities & Life from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, F&G Annuities & Life currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Insider Activity

In other F&G Annuities & Life news, Director Celina J. Wang Doka bought 4,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,864.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,849.58. The trade was a 17.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher O. Blunt bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.99 per share, for a total transaction of $209,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,107,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,238,616.72. This represents a 0.91% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About F&G Annuities & Life

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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