MBL Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $135,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 99.2% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 28,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,944,000 after acquiring an additional 14,364 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,759 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 1,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In other news, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total value of $407,209.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,364.48. This represents a 29.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.87, for a total transaction of $135,726.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,589,143.01. This represents a 7.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 16.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on American Financial Group from $175.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.75.

American Financial Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of AFG stock opened at $150.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $154.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $143.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.59.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.92%.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE:AFG) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its Great American Insurance Group operations, the company primarily provides property and casualty insurance, with an emphasis on specialty commercial products and markets.

Its insurance offerings serve businesses, organizations and individuals across a range of industries. Product lines have included commercial property and liability coverage, workers’ compensation, transportation, agriculture and crop insurance, marine and other specialty risks.