Advisors Preferred LLC Buys Shares of 3,137 American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,516,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $742,501,000 after purchasing an additional 202,522 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in American Financial Group by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 333,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,832,000 after acquiring an additional 146,237 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $208,699,000 after purchasing an additional 143,820 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,693,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,526,000 after purchasing an additional 104,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 123.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,486,000 after purchasing an additional 63,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFG opened at $126.42 on Friday. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.56 and a 12 month high of $150.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $136.44 and a 200-day moving average of $134.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.83.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $3.12 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 30.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AFG shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut American Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.