American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.20), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 21.16%. American Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 EPS.

American Financial Group Stock Up 3.6 %

NYSE AFG traded up $4.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $132.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 109,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,247. American Financial Group has a 52 week low of $107.11 and a 52 week high of $138.81. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.75.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Financial Group from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

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.