Is American Financial closed and shut down in 2023? American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) is a holding company for American financial services. Its headquarter is in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its main lines of business are insurance and investments.
The mission of American Financial Group is to provide financial solutions. They support both present requirements and future aspirations. Their Specialty P&C Insurance Group provides businesses with unique commercial policies. It will address their unique and shifting key financial risks.
The company’s insurance services are a part of the Great American Insurance Group. Its history began in 1872 with the establishment of the Great American Insurance Company. AFG is a global leader in specialized property and casualty insurance. This is due to the workers’ strength and knowledge. The company has 7,500 employees in over 120 locations around the world.
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History of AFG
American Financial Corporation is a diversified holding company. The business invests 53% of its assets in property and liability insurance, life insurance, and tax-sheltered annuities. Also, the company has two amusement parks and a sports complex near Cincinnati, Ohio. Additional subsidiaries included the savings and loan association, food goods, television and radio operations, film and video production, petroleum marketing and crude oil production, and portfolio investment.
AFG purchased the Dempsey & Siders Agency in 1962. It acquired the casualty and property insurance companies. AFC acquired United Liberty Life in 1963, allowing it to enter the life insurance market. AFC bought 98% of the Ohio-based Athens National Bank’s outstanding shares the same year. The entire cost of the stock transaction was $2.3 million in cash and seller assumptions.
In the 1960s, American Financial Corporation bought large stock holdings in many businesses. This includes the Insurance Company of North America, Chubb & Son, and Ohio Casualty. AFC pursued various businesses between 1968 and 1972. It acquires or takes over 16 businesses, including its subsidiaries. Seven of them were all in the insurance business.
The Great American Holding Corporation took over the management of the Great American Insurance Company in 1967. This holding firm partnered with National General Corporation. In 1970, the Great American Insurance Company’s administrative offices were relocated to the National General Corporation’s head office in Los Angeles, California.
AFG exited the Annuity Business
American Financial Group, Inc. confirmed in May 2021 the sale of its annuity businesses to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. This included the Great American Life Insurance Company (GALIC) and its two insurance subsidiaries. They are Annuity Investors Life Insurance Company and Manhattan National Life Insurance Company. It also includes the broker-dealer affiliate, Great American Advisors, Inc., and an insurance distributor, AAG Insurance Agency, Inc. (MassMutual). The total after-tax cash the sale generates is around $3.5 billion.
The business had announced a special, one-time cash dividend of $14.00 per share of American Financial Group common stock. This was in connection with the closure of this transaction. The dividends were paid on June 15, 2021, to shareholders on the register on June 8, 2021. The total payment for this special dividend is $1.2 billion. This special dividend was paid in addition to the firm’s quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share, which was paid on April 26, 2021.
Furthermore, on May 19, 2021, the business’s board of directors approved the repurchase. This was an extra 5,000,000 shares of the business’s outstanding common stock through December 31, 2025.
What Is the Rate of AFG’s Earnings Per Share Growth?
Earnings per share (EPS) results will likely drive the share price. It’s because the market functions as a voting system in the short term but as a weighing machine in the long term. When conducting investment analysis, financial experts should pay particular attention to EPS. As is clear, American Financial Group increased its EPS by 15% annually during the previous three years. If the business can maintain it, that rate is quite good.
EBIT margins and sales growth must be considered when determining if the current profit growth is sustainable. In 2022, American Financial Group’s revenue was not derived from operations. American Financial Group did well to increase revenue during 2021, but EBIT margins also suffered. Better days should be ahead if EBIT margins maintain balance and the revenue increase persists.
AFG Reports Fourth-Quarter and Year-End Results
American Financial Group, Inc. declared a 2022 fourth-quarter net income of $276 million ($3.24 per share) in February 2023. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2022 included $21 million ($0.25 per share) in non-core realized gains on securities. In contrast, non-core realized gains on securities totaling $4 million ($0.06 per share) were included in the net results for the fourth.
A quarter of 2021. Compared to $23.30 per share in 2021, net earnings for 2022 were $10.53.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, core net operating earnings were $351 million ($4.12 per share). The fourth quarter of 2022 had core company net earnings of $255 million ($2.99 per share). This decline was due to lower returns in AFG’s alternate investment portfolio over the previous year. It also includes lower agricultural underwriting profit. Higher revenue from other P&C investments offset both of these issues.
Conclusion
In the Insurance-Property, Casualty, and Title industry group, American Financial Group ranks 10th out of its competitors. WR Berkley (WRB) and Arch Capital Group (ACGL) are two more of the top-rated stocks in the group.