Values First Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG)

Values First Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. American Financial Group comprises 1.1% of Values First Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $1,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,206,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in American Financial Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,674 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,105 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in American Financial Group by 44.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 433 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup downgraded shares of American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $144.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th.

American Financial Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AFG opened at $132.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.62 and a 52 week high of $138.81.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.11. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 11.06%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.19%.

American Financial Group Profile

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.