Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Purchases 358 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,164 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.08% of American Financial Group worth $8,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFG. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 3.8% in the 3rd 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in American Financial Group by 78.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,832,000 after buying an additional 146,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 worth $208,699,000 after buying an additional 143,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 251.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 147,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,442,000 after buying an additional 105,764 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Financial Group Stock Up 1.4 %

American Financial Group stock opened at $137.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $139.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.66. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.64 and a 1-year high of $150.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.20). American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. American Financial Group’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AFG. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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.

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.