F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG) Short Interest Update

F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. (NYSE:FG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,542,256 shares, an increase of 70.5% from the December 15th total of 904,498 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 832,696 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 832,696 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

F&G Annuities & Life Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of FG stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.75. 585,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,067,994. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.90. F&G Annuities & Life has a twelve month low of $27.11 and a twelve month high of $47.76.

F&G Annuities & Life (NYSE:FG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.20. F&G Annuities & Life had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The firm had revenue of $737.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that F&G Annuities & Life will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

F&G Annuities & Life Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from F&G Annuities & Life’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. F&G Annuities & Life’s payout ratio is 29.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher O. Blunt bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.56 per share, with a total value of $147,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,117,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,030,225.76. This trade represents a 0.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On F&G Annuities & Life

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in F&G Annuities & Life in the second quarter worth approximately $3,863,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 365,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,684,000 after purchasing an additional 69,242 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of F&G Annuities & Life during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,916,000. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of F&G Annuities & Life by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in F&G Annuities & Life in the third quarter worth $1,434,000. 95.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FG. Piper Sandler set a $33.00 price target on F&G Annuities & Life in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of F&G Annuities & Life from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $31.00 price target on shares of F&G Annuities & Life in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

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.