Short Interest in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Grows By 10.4%

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 794,100 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the August 15th total of 719,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 370,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of American Financial Group stock traded up $0.12 on Monday, reaching $113.49. 381,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 367,290. American Financial Group has a 52 week low of $108.58 and a 52 week high of $150.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.62 and a 200 day moving average of $117.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.47). American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 22.51%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Financial Group will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 14th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 13th. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 25.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFG has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of American Financial Group from $162.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of American Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,468,000. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,511,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 12,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 16,900.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 102,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,113,000 after purchasing an additional 101,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 751,453 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $89,235,000 after purchasing an additional 106,856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.50% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It 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.