American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Short Interest Update

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 833,000 shares, a growth of 18.6% from the April 15th total of 702,600 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 343,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,288,375 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $925,563,000 after purchasing an additional 81,293 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 16.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 5.2% in the fourth 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. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 838,468 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $93,632,000 after acquiring an additional 56,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in American Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $97,304,000. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company's stock.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE AFG traded down $0.55 on Tuesday, hitting $130.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 214,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,130. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $105.22 and a 52-week high of $137.71. The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $130.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.17.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Financial Group will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 2.17%. American Financial Group's 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.

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