American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Stock Price Down 5.6% Following Weak Earnings

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)’s stock price fell 5.6% during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $129.05 and last traded at $128.44. 45,098 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 285,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.02.

The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AFG. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $165.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Financial Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,501,000 after purchasing an additional 202,522 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in American Financial Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Financial Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in American Financial Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,566,000 after purchasing an additional 207,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.83.

American Financial Group Company Profile

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.