Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY Makes New Investment in American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $903,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in American Financial Group in the second quarter worth $1,079,329,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $114,661,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $102,590,000. Vestor Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 100,006.8% during the 4th quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 600,641 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $82,096,000 after purchasing an additional 600,041 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 337.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 431,144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,061,000 after purchasing an additional 332,517 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David Lawrence Thompson, Jr. sold 11,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.05, for a total value of $1,535,518.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 584,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,882,434.90. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Weiss sold 2,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.76, for a total transaction of $407,209.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,364.48. This trade represents a 29.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,430 shares of company stock worth $2,255,061. 16.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Financial Group from $158.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.00.

American Financial Group Price Performance

AFG stock opened at $144.39 on Tuesday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.09 and a 1 year high of $150.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.55. The firm has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.62.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.50. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 11.51%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. American Financial Group’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.77%.

American Financial Group Profile

American Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: AFG) is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through its flagship subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, the firm underwrites a broad range of specialty insurance products for commercial and industrial clients, including inland marine, excess and surplus lines, executive liability, and environmental liability coverage. In addition, American Financial Group offers supplemental accident and health insurance and assumes reinsurance risks from other insurers, helping to diversify its underwriting portfolio.

The company traces its roots to 1946, when it was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr.