Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. AFG are trading at a premium to the Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance industry. Its price-to-book value of 2.46X is higher than the industry average of 1.68X. It has a Value Score of B.

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Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV are also trading at a multiple higher than the industry average, while NMI Holdings Inc NMIH and Cincinnati Financial Corporation CINF shares are trading at a discount.

American Financial shares have gained 16.8% in the past year, underperforming its industry, the Finance sector, as well the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s return.

AFG Price Performance

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With a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.3 million.

AFG Trading Above 200-Day Moving Average

The stock closed at $137.75 on Thursday and is trading above the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) of $132.04, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data.

AFG’s Favorable Return on Capital

American Financial’s return on equity has also been improving over the last few quarters, reflecting its efficiency in utilizing shareholders’ funds. The trailing 12 months ROE was 19.9%, which compared favorably with the industry average of 7.5%.

Factors Acting in Favor of AFG

New business opportunities, increased exposure and a good renewal rate environment, coupled with additional crop premiums from the Crop Risk Services acquisition, poise AFG well for growth.

American Financial, a niche player in the P&C market, is likely to benefit from strategic acquisitions and improved pricing. Improved industry fundamentals drive overall growth.

AFG witnessed average renewal pricing across the entire P&C Group. It intends to maintain satisfactory rates in P&C renewal pricing going forward. AFG expects to achieve overall renewal rate increases above prospective loss ratio trends to meet or exceed targeted returns.

Its combined ratio has been better than the industry average for more than two decades. Specialty niche focus, product line diversification and underwriting discipline should help AFG outperform the industry’s underwriting results.

Wealth Distribution

The property and casualty insurer has increased its dividend for 18 straight years apart from paying special dividends occasionally. This reflects its financial stability, which stems from robust operating profitability in the P&C segment, stellar investment performance and effective capital management.
Notably, the 10-year compound annual growth rate for the company's regular annual dividends stands at an impressive 12.4%. This track record underscores its prudent financial management and stability. The dividend yield is 2.3%, better than the industry average of 0.2%.

To Conclude

American Financial’s prudent capital deployment, increased exposures, good renewal rate environment and improved combined ratio make it an attractive stock.

Despite its expensive valuation, American Financial should benefit from strategic acquisitions, new business opportunities, stronger underwriting profit and favorable growth estimates. It is, therefore, wise to hold on to this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF) : Free Stock Analysis Report

American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

NMI Holdings Inc (NMIH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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