Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,287,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,134,857,000 after buying an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,526,000 after acquiring an additional 104,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,699,000 after acquiring an additional 143,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,566,000 after acquiring an additional 207,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $122,419,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AFG opened at $132.27 on Thursday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.97 and a twelve month high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.76.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.03). American Financial Group had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 20.30%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory G. Joseph bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $121.00 per share, for a total transaction of $363,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,477 shares in the company, valued at $6,954,717. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

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.