Short Interest in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Grows By 79.2%

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, an increase of 79.2% from the October 31st total of 893,100 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 347,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFG. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in American Financial Group by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,833,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of American Financial Group by 29.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,144 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Financial Group by 10.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 143,820 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in American Financial Group by 11.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,528,000 after acquiring an additional 6,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in American Financial Group by 7.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 35,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,744,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on American Financial Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

American Financial Group Price Performance

American Financial Group stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $147.93. 415,812 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 313,030. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $136.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. American Financial Group has a 12 month low of $110.53 and a 12 month high of $150.19.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 10.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American Financial Group will post 10.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is an increase from American Financial Group’s previous None dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 29.99%.

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.