American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.89%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFG traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $127.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 443,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,189. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. American Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $105.22 and a fifty-two week high of $137.71. The business's 50 day moving average price is $129.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.97. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. American Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $129.00 price objective on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at $5,490,012. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at $5,490,012. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,500 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $317,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $959,684.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,843 shares of company stock worth $1,854,746. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company's stock.

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.