American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.89 EPS.

American Financial Group Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE AFG traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $127.41. 246,863 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 273,413. American Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $105.22 and a fifty-two week high of $137.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.09.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 27.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $626,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares in the company, valued at $5,490,012. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michelle A. Gillis sold 5,176 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $626,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,490,012. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lehman John I. Von sold 1,773 shares of American Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.48, for a total transaction of $222,476.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,548,799.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,746. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AFG. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $129.00 target price on shares of American Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.50.

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.