American Equity Investment Life (NYSE:AEL) was upgraded by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, BenzingaRatingsTable reports. The firm presently has a $25.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $30.00. Piper Sandler’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 33.55% from the company’s previous close.
A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AEL. ValuEngine lowered American Equity Investment Life from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. SunTrust Banks increased their target price on American Equity Investment Life from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded American Equity Investment Life from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 20th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on American Equity Investment Life from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. American Equity Investment Life has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.83.
AEL opened at $18.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.86. American Equity Investment Life has a fifty-two week low of $18.58 and a fifty-two week high of $34.16.
American Equity Investment Life (NYSE:AEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.79 million. American Equity Investment Life had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.10%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Equity Investment Life will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.
In related news, Director Alonzo A. J. J. Strickland sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.11, for a total transaction of $27,099.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 246,400 shares in the company, valued at $7,419,104. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Debra J. Richardson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total value of $664,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 106,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,519,930.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 137,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,108,000 after acquiring an additional 34,006 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 32.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 60,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 14,707 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 29,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 45.1% in the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 787,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,062,000 after purchasing an additional 244,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Equity Investment Life by 18.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 347,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after purchasing an additional 54,532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.19% of the company’s stock.
About American Equity Investment Life
American Equity Investment Life Holding Company, through its subsidiaries, provides life insurance products and services in the United States. The company issues fixed index and rate annuities; and single premium immediate annuities, as well as life insurance products. It markets its products through independent agents, including national marketing organizations, broker/dealers, banks, and registered investment advisors.