Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $3.26 Million Holdings in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,798 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 842 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $3,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. American Financial Group Inc. 401 K Retirement & Savings Plan now owns 2,616,928 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $343,707,000 after buying an additional 23,228 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 395.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,520,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $331,071,000 after buying an additional 2,012,027 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 983,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,147,000 after buying an additional 14,265 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 820,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $107,824,000 after buying an additional 18,886 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 8.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 707,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,947,000 after buying an additional 54,204 shares during the period. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 326,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,883,106.30. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AFG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.75.

American Financial Group Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE AFG opened at $131.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.74. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.73 and a 12-month high of $150.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

American Financial Group 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.