Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Buys New Stake in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 9,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,832,000 after buying an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 72.5% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 57,894 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,249,000 after buying an additional 24,334 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 116.5% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 7,975 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in American Financial Group by 133.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 49,064 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,444,000 after acquiring an additional 28,068 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in American Financial Group by 50.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 41,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,434,000 after acquiring an additional 13,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on American Financial Group from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen raised American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.00.

American Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of AFG opened at $142.29 on Monday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.73 and a fifty-two week high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $139.09 and its 200-day moving average is $131.33.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.41%. American Financial Group’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $2.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.97%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total transaction of $1,343,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at $43,883,106.30. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian S. Hertzman sold 1,777 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.51, for a total transaction of $253,240.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,610,363. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

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.