Zacks Research Brokers Reduce Earnings Estimates for American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for American Financial Group in a report issued on Wednesday, May 15th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now forecasts that the insurance provider will earn $2.58 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.74. The consensus estimate for American Financial Group's current full-year earnings is $10.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Financial Group's Q3 2024 earnings at $2.57 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.01 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $11.35 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $13.37 EPS.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on AFG. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $135.00.

American Financial Group Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:AFG traded up $2.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $133.55. The stock had a trading volume of 291,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,600. The business's 50 day moving average is $130.62 and its 200-day moving average is $122.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.79. American Financial Group has a one year low of $105.22 and a one year high of $137.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AFG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,304,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,065 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $525,973,000 after acquiring an additional 654,442 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 447.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 259,491 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,977,000 after acquiring an additional 212,057 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,838,501 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $456,359,000 after acquiring an additional 191,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 1,804.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,652 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,491,000 after acquiring an additional 91,577 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,500 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $317,650.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $959,684.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.95, for a total transaction of $135,455.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,511.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,500 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $317,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,684.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,667 shares of company stock valued at $1,228,450 over the last three months. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 27.18%.

About American Financial Group

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.