Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Boosts American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Price Target to $127.00

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $125.00 to $127.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price indicates a potential upside of 1.68% from the stock's previous close.

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st.

American Financial Group Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:AFG traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $124.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 136,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,913. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $124.55 and a 200-day moving average of $127.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.71. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $150.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.76 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,134,857,000 after buying an additional 99,560 shares during the period. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan now owns 2,616,928 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $343,707,000 after purchasing an additional 23,228 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 395.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $331,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012,027 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Financial Group by 2.7% during 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 996,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,481,000 after acquiring an additional 63,193 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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